It probably goes without saying that I was not a fan of John McCain during this presidential race. But over the last month, as his campaign ship was sinking, we got to see a few bright flashes of what could have been. At the Al Smith dinner, McCain brought the house down. Not only were his jokes funny, but his comic timing and delivery was perfect. He was likable! There was no hint of the smarmy persona he picked up on the campaign trail in front of audiences filled with the Republican base. On SNL the weekend before the election, his performance was hilarious and personable. And, at the end of the long road, his concession speech was gracious, poised, and humble in the face of a crowd openly hostile to Obama. I knew he had this in him, and it's a shame we didn't get to see more of it when it mattered.
I couldn't help thinking to myself: self, wouldn't it have been great to have this election be a battle between two great titans of personality? To have both sides debating on the issues, to leave the smears and lies aside and really talk to each other? He wouldn't have gotten my vote, but it would've been fun. And come January 20th, we'd probably be seeing a different guy put his hand on the Bible.
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Not only would it have been a truly great sight to see, it would have been a return to a great tradition in American politics. Two great leaders with competing visions for the country - history books couldn't even begin to describe it for future generations.
When I saw John McCain give his concession speech, I felt sorry for the country because we didn't get to see the real him all these months. The country may have turned a corner in terms of policies, but we lost a little bit of our civic tradition in the process. I hope we can get it back.
Call me an optimist, but I don't think of our civic tradition as a piece of ice that melts if you don't take care of it. Each election, we start from scratch. And while people can become more jaded with all the politicking that goes on, all it takes is a glimmer of genuine feeling to make us turn the other cheek and forgive the system for its faults.
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