  The moment that some of us had been bracing ourselves for came earlier this week. urlLink Andrew Sullivan has endorsed John Kerry. I suppose I have three comments about that, in particular: One, Sullivan’s non-endorsement of Bush had amounted to an endorsement of Kerry anyway. Two, urlLink Sullivan’s argument that Kerry is the true conservative in this race and Bush is really a liberal urlLink doesn’t hold water ( hat tip, urlLink Little Green Footballs ), and it’s evidence that even smart, worthwhile people can talk themselves into believing nonsense when their feelings have been hurt. And, three, I’ll continue reading and linking to Sullivan because, as I said, he’s smart and worthwhile. All of which relates to an e-mail I got from my friend Saul in Kansas the other day. I’ve known Saul since high school and we’ve remained pretty close over the years, even after he went into the army and relocated to Kansas, where he now works as an engineer for a major aircraft firm who’s name starts with a “b” and ends with an “oeing.” Saul’s pretty conservative, like me, and tends to be a pretty no-nonsense guy.
So I shared his frustration when I read what he had to say the other day. I’m sharing this not because I think anything here is particularly enlightening, but just as part of my continuing contribution to the blog dialog. Saul’s hypothetical questions got me thinking, and maybe they’ll do the same for you. Saul’s questions are in green, and my “hypothetical responses” follow: >What does it take to be a bad president?
I think that can really only be decided in retrospect, and it's fairly subjective even then. I say, for instance, that Bill Clinton was a bad president because he failed so badly in the areas of national defense and security. Our enemies grew stronger on his watch, and I believe that's at least 51.00001% of the reason that 9/11 happened. Others feel he was a good president and point to the deficit as evidence. I guess it's a matter of priorities. What we are really arguing about when we argue these things is who has the better organized priorities. >If Hilary Clinton was elected in 2008, would the whole country go to hell? We were discussing this type of thing at work the other night. Yeah, the country could withstand a four or eight year Hilary Clinton presidency. Hell, we’ve already withstood a Hilary Clinton presidency once.
:) My position, at least in terms of Kerry, is that obviously we can stand a four or even eight year Kerry presidency. The country can withstand it. However, I believe that the guy really brings nothing to the table and gives us no reason to put him in office instead of Bush. Kerry's campaign is "Elect me instead of him. " That's all he's got. So, no, he wouldn't ruin the country. But it would surely be eight years of non progress and sloppy handling of most foreign issues. Some people argue that Bush’s handling of foreign issues is sloppy, and that holds water, to one degree or another, depending on the specific issue in question. Nonetheless, I think we did the right thing in Iraq even if we never find WMDs. And I think we’re continuing to do the right thing. Plus, the economy is obviously turning around, so there’s one less thing the Democrats can hang on Bush. To me, the bottom line is that there’s no reason to replace Bush with Kerry. > If inflation went up, if the world became more dangerous, would we even realize it? Again, mostly in retrospect. I don’t think any of us realized how dangerous the world became during the ten years leading up to 9/11 until after the fact.
We slept through the 90’s. Inflation, on the other hand, is certainly immediately tangible at least in terms of gas, milk, and other regular purchases. >I am trying to think of things Hilary could do that would really damage the country. Rather than make guesses about direct actions she might take, I’ll throw out another hypothetical, instead: Once she got in, the unity of Republicans would be the strongest it's been in years.
She'd be stonewalled on everything she tried to do, even innocuous or positive things. That's one MORE reason not to vote for her, even if it is one that makes Republicans look bad, too. >Who is the worst president we've ever had? Totally subjective, and anyone who can answer that question is telling you more about themselves than they are about whatever president they nominate as worst-ever. >Anyway, just feeling the frustration lately over the futility of trying to change anyone's mind about politics.
When it comes to liberals, I think what you have to do is really learn about someone, learn where their priorities are, and then point out in a friendly way that their priorities are at odds with their political beliefs. Make them examine their own personal conflicts. Unless, of course, their priorities really do re-enforce their liberal beliefs... in which case they aren't worth arguing with and you're wasting your time. It's like the old line about what happens when you try to teach a pig to sing: It frustrates you and the pig doesn't even realize what you're doing.
I work with a lot of “heritage Democrats,” people who’s social and economic beliefs are more in line with the Republican party than the Democratic party, but who vote Democrat as a matter of heritage. They’re in favor of private gun ownership with few restrictions, opposed to federal funding for abortion as birth control, opposed to quotas, despise Michael Moore, favored the Federal Marriage Amendment… the list goes on and on.
Yet they continue to vote for Democrats because they’ve been taught since they were children that Republicans are evil and Democrats represent the “little guy.” So, on an emotional level, they support the Democrats, even if logically the Republicans are a better choice for them. That doesn’t make them bad people, it just makes them frustrating as hell. No amount of arguing the logic of their vote effects them, and neither would it effect Sullivan’s endorsement at this point. By supporting FMA, Bush hurt Sullivan's feelings. That's where it ends with him. I have no idea how to change anyone’s mind about politics. I think the best we can do is try to set a good example of what a conservative really is. No one talked me into becoming a conservative… I just realized that I was one by really examining the people around me. 
