“Ladies and gentlemen, have you reached your verdict?”
“Yes, we have.”
“And what is it?”
“We elect Barack Hussein Obama president of the United States.”
The electorate, like juries, generally sees through the BS and gets it right.
Usually — not always. It did this time. It wasn’t distracted by the attacks and distortions. Perhaps this election drove a stake through the heart of the Lee Atwater “Do and say anything to get elected” approach; it didn’t work.
Ask Elizabeth Dole. The American electorate’s verdict in favor of the coolest and smartest man in the room was in its self-interest. It made a costly mistake in 2000 and 2004, very costly, but it wouldn’t be bamboozled again. Juries, like elections, usually are sophisticated. They make occasional blunders, like the O.J. Simpson case and the Bush election. But mostly, they get to the right conclusion, even if for unexpected reasons.
We’ll be analyzing the reasons for this election-verdict for years. Today, all the many reasons seem right.
As the pols say, God bless the United States of America.
Visit www.RonaldGoldfarb.com.