Put That Sucker on Spin

It was a clear chilly morning, the day after Halloween. The girls were up early (hello, daylight savings) and were eating their candy.

The boys, after a late night of balloons, knives and a campfire, were fast asleep. No school this day.

I was sipping a cup of coffee. Just another morning in America.

Well, maybe not just *any* other day. Very soon now the election results will come in. One more day. On the eve of end of this bitterly fought campaign, my mind goes back 20 years to another deeply contested battle for the White House.

Here are the words spoken by the winner and the loser that time around.

George W. Bush's victory speech in 2000:

"Our country has been through a long and trying period, with the outcome of the presidential election not finalised for longer than any of us could have ever imagined. Vice president Gore and I put our hearts and hopes into our campaigns; we both gave it our all. We shared similar emotions. I understand how difficult this moment must be for vice president Gore and his family. He has a distinguished record of service to our country as a congressman, a senator and as vice president. This evening I received a gracious call from the vice president. We agreed to meet early next week in Washington and we agreed to do our best to heal our country after this hard fought contest...I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation. The president of the United States is the president of every single American, of every race and every background. Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to serve your interests, and I will work to earn your respect."

Al Gore's concession speech in 2000:

"Just moments ago, I spoke with George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States...Now the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it. I accept the finality of this outcome which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College. And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession. I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honor the new President-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our Constitution affirms and defends."

***

Can we hope for a similar graciousness this time around?  Probably not, though I'm sure Biden will try. Instead, I'm afraid at least some trouble lies ahead. Maybe a lot of trouble.

It is shameful that Trump inspires his supporters to caravan around in pickup trucks with flags, guns at the ready. 

Why? I have seen these types of images before. In Afghanistan, where jihadists of the Taliban rode through villages in similar trucks, with similar flags and similar guns. 

They had despotic leaders who inspired them and the destruction they wrought ruined a country for generations and the violence continues to this day. Is America to suffer a similar convulsion? 

I dove through one of these Trump caravans on I-880 recently as it tried to make a show of strength here in the hyper-liberal Bay Area. The most notable feature of that caravan was that the drivers were all taking selfies as they rolled down the highway.

Local people pretty much politely ignored the scene except for one old guy. His message to them was through his middle finger.

While all of this noise is going on, most polls are holding steady for Biden but as the top news story below indicates, there are some hints that the race may be closer than expected.  Like every other analyst, I'll be reading polls right up until the last minute, to see if there are any other signs that Trump is making up ground late in the race.

If he does, that means his increasingly shrill, racist appeals are resonating with his base. He is attacking Democrats, reporters, Moslems, immigrants, black people -- anyone he perceives as the kind of "un-American" person his supporters can be incited to hate.

For that reason alone, this is the ugliest political campaign in U.S. history. I fear the scars will be with us for a long time to come.

*** 

* A new Des Moines Register/Selzer and Co. poll from Iowa likely voters has President Donald Trump leading Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by a 48% to 41% margin. If it is correct, Trump is in a far better position than assumed, and we could be in for a much closer race than many expect. (CNN)

* Election at Hand, Biden Leads Trump in Four Key States, Poll Shows -- Biden leads Trump in Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona and, by a wide margin, in Wisconsin, according to a Times/Siena College poll. (NYT)

* Biden leads Trump, 52% to 42%, among registered voters in a new national WSJ/NBC News survey. However, the poll finds the race tightening when the landscape is narrowed to a set of 12 battleground states. (WSJ)

* Post-ABC polls: Biden has slight lead in Pennsylvania; Florida a toss-up (WashPo)

* Why You Can’t Rely on Election Forecasts -- Voting models are not as scientific or certain as they may seem. (NYT)

* Trump supporters seen blocking traffic on a New Jersey highway and a New York bridge (CNN)

* Their First Try Backfired, but Giuliani and Allies Keep Aiming at Biden -- The former New York mayor’s dirt-digging effort on Hunter Biden in 2019 ended with President Trump’s impeachment. Now he is back with new associates. So far it is not going exactly as planned. (NYT)

* Texas Supreme Court denies GOP-led petition seeking to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston area (CNN)

* Only 4 states trending down in Covid-19 cases (CNN)

* Cut Off From the World Again, Australia Now Finds Silver Linings -- After chafing against their isolation for so long, Australians these days are finding island life a privilege when pestilence lies beyond. (NYT)

* SNL tells Halloween horror story warning that Trump could win reelection (WashPo)

* An Ancient Hill and Forgotten Dead: Afghanistan’s Haunted Outpost -- Its name was Observation Post Rock. The outpost is the backdrop for a ghost story, and is known for strange voices, radio static and the creeping fear of being watched. (NYT)

* ‘Jim Crow, Indian style’: How Native Americans were denied the right to vote for decades (WashPo)

* Black Lives Matter faces test of its influence in election (AP)

* Kentucky Police Training Quoted Hitler and Urged ‘Ruthless’ Violence -- A training slide show that urged officers to “always fight to the death” is no longer used but has raised an outcry in a state that has struggled with police violence. (NYT)

* Another election night nears, with trepidation replacing hope (WashPo)

* It Has to be Biden, Editorial (The Economist)

* Covid-19 deaths are soaring, and Jakarta’s graveyards are running out of space (WashPo)

* Race Tightening Slightly. Electoral Votes: Biden 350, Trump 170, Tied 18. Senate: Democrats 53, Republicans 46, 1 tossup. (Electoral-Vote.com)

***

I love your song, Miranda Lambert, and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you too, but will this election actually all come out in the wash?

'Cause it'll all come out, all come out in the wash
It'll all come out, all come out in the wash
Every little stain, every little heartbreak, no matter how messy it got
You take the sin and the men and you throw 'em all in
And you put that sucker on spin

-- Miranda Lambert (country singer/songwriter)

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