Hold this thought

Every day this past week, things have seemed more horrible. The Abu Ghraib scandal grows. Bush defends the indefensible Rumsfeld. And then today, we get word of Nick Berg's death at the hands of a group avenging the prison abuses.

I don't have much to write right now. These world events are playing out against a backdrop of plumbing problems with our new home that have literally turned our front yard into a cesspool. The global scene seems to be mirroring what we're dealing with here, and it isn't pretty.

But I must hold this thought: Things are going to get better. A year from now, whether via election or impeachment - if it comes to that - we will get rid of the folks occupying our White House. A year from now, things may still suck in Iraq, but with new leadership and an honest commitment to setting things right, America will once again be working with the world community to repair the damage we've done. A year from now, maybe we can start a real effort to combat the terror threat, rather than inflame it even more, as this misbegotten war has done.

A year from now, we will be rid of an administration run by right-wing zealots bent on manifesting their world view. A year from now, women won't have to fear a Supreme Court headed by Antonin Scalia. A year from now, Nick Berg's parents will have found some peace, as will the families of the Iraqi prisoners abused at Abu Ghraib.

It may all be too much to ask, hope, or expect.
But tonight, my mental health demands I believe these things can happen.

Comments

[brad]

A year from now we will be screaming "election fraud" into the wind of derisive laughter coming from the Bush/Diebold alliance, wondering how poll after poll could put Bush 5-8 points behind but he could still pull out an electoral-vote majority. A year from now we will be shuddering to imagine what horrors this group might unleash during a term in which they have no re-election to worry about. A year from now, the world community will hold us, the American people, responsible for the actions of our leaders, because to them, we will have voiced our collective approval at the ballot box, fraud or no.

It could happen; we all should work to see that it doesn't.

[Chris in Boise]

Following on up on Brad's thought. In a year, if Bush is re-elected and especially if he steals the election, he will be completely alone, he will have no allies internationally expect for the Saudis and other dictators he can buy. There won't be a democratic government that will touch him with a ten foot pole, because in country after country, right wing governments that have gotten too close to Bush have been thrown out by their own people, most recently in India. The world is awake, and they won't fall for Bush's lies, even if Americans do.

[Julie in Boise]

So it won't be enough for Kerry to get a small lead; he'll need a double-digit lead in November to secure a decisive victory to discount the Diebold Effect.
Scary stuff, since Kerry can barely muster a few percentage points over Bush.