Flowers Munched

[rejectomorph]

The deer have returned. Late last night, when tree shadows turned the light of the low moon to intricate filligree, I went out to enjoy the night air. As I walked along the driveway, I stepped on a single dry leaf which crunched loudly, and I heard the sudden clop of hooves on the pavement across the street. The noise had startled several deer. They were not visible in the darkness, but I listened to them trot away. This morning, the early light reveals that most of the blossoms have been stripped from the rose bushes in every nearby yard. The deer must have been feasting for quite some time before I disturbed them.

Later, I had an interesting political fantasy. Dick Cheney has a massive heart attack (the ghost of Warren G. Harding forbid) and can't run. The Republicans decide that, to avoid the alienation of black voters, rather than kick Colin Powell out of the administration, they will kick him upstairs and run him for Vice President. They win the election. Meanwhile, Barack Obama is elected to the Senate, rapidly distinguishes himself in that body, gains a strong political base, and becomes the Democratic nominee for President in 2008. Powell becomes very popular as Vice President, and gains the Republican nomination for the Presidency. We have two black candidates for President in 2008.

The thing that would make me happiest is no more years of Bush. Having a contest between Powell and Obama is the thing that would make me second happiest. It's a very long shot, of course, but possible nevertheless. We would probably get political debates and speeches that were actually worth listening to, for a change. It's about time that something non-abysmal happened in American politics, anyway.

Comments

[tick-wonderdog.livejournal.com]

how do you think a hillary clinton - barack obama ticket would go over?
if big john and little john can pull off a couple of successful administrations, we could concievably see that ticket in '12.

[rejectomorph]

I've always like Hillary myself, but I don't think she appeals to the mass of voters across the nation. Entirely aside from that atavistic prejudice against women in politics which remains too common in America, I think Hillary would be hampered at the polls by the lack of that warmth which Bill Clinton has in such abundance.

In fact, I'd say that an Obama-Clinton ticket would actually have a greater chance of success than a Clinon-Obama ticket. I base that on my perception that American racial prejudice has declined more than anti-female prejudice.

[marseille.livejournal.com]

I'm wating for Obama to run for something, I'll vote for him gladly. Wasn't the contrast between him and Sharpton something?!
Your scenario doesn't get Bush out, however. We MUST get rid of him!
Besides, Powell, while he's held important office, has not been listened to, and has much less impact than he had before.

[rejectomorph]

I'd certainly like to see Bush gone, but the thing that worries me most about the prospect is that, largely due to his policies, I expect that a whole lot of shit is likely be hitting the fan during the next four years, and that little be done to prevent it happening. Naturally, whoever is in the White House will be blamed for most everything that goes wrong. I'd rather see Bush get drenched in it than Kerry. But I really, really, really don't want to see Bush naming any more judges, and I especially don't want him filling any vacancies that come up on the Supreme Court.

As for Powell's political prospects, I think that the wiser members of the Republican party can see that most of what has gone wrong with Bush's foreign policy could have been avoided had the administration listened to Powell's advice. Of course, Powell becoming a Vice Presidential candidate would be dependent on Bush himself making that realization, which is unlikely. But I suspect that much of the Republican establishment is not at all pleased with W's performance, whatever they might say publicly, and would back a Powell candidacy, realizing that he is a tremendous asset to the party.

[marseille.livejournal.com]

Powell surely must have had strong opinions on Iraq, which he hasn't made public. If he'd spoken up publicly and demanded some common sense he'd be out of a job BUT would have much more credibility. Standing by and letting this disaster happen isn't much of a record.