Josh Chafetz reflects on where he is in this race. Bottom line: “Undecided … but leaning more towards Kerry than I was before.” That’s where I am. Josh’s arguments are very close to my own thoughts as well. I cannot support Bush but I’m amazed I’m this close to considering favoring Kerry as president. I’m not there yet. Don’t rush me. But after two debates, I feel far more comfortable with the thought of him as commander-in-chief than I once thought possible.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “I started reading your work about a year ago on the suggestion of a friend because I was convinced that the actions of the Bush Administration were making life impossible for a fair-minded and intelligent Conservatives. Obviously, there is a great deal of cognitive dissonance in leaving the Party that brought you to this point. But defending the Bush Administration has forced any Conservative thinker who is fairminded and intelligent into either turning himself into rhetorical knots or altogether ignoring reality. (For a classic example of both, see David Brooks’ column today–for him to look at the Duelfer report and conclude that “[Saddam] was on the verge of greatness” requires delusions nearly on the level of Hussein’s: Hussein’s vaunted army lost the country in three weeks without getting a single plane off the ground; he had neither stores of WMD’s nor the programs in place to create them; Saddam Hussein was about as close to greatness as an imaginative kid playing battleship.)
It has been refreshing to see you come to the conclusion that you cannot be Conservative, intelligent and fair minded and continue to support this administration. In fact, at the risk of being melodramatic, it renews my faith in the idea that a fairminded struggle with ideas can result in progress, rather than further entrenchment at the expense of logic, fairness and reality.
So much of Conservative ideology is already part and parcel of the current political millieu on both sides of the aisle–a faith in American power, free market ideology, personal responsibility–that a Conservative can vote for John Kerry without sacrificing his ideals. (After all, it was Bill Clinton who led Welfare Reform and the formation of NAFTA, two actions that were absolute anathema to the Left. He also balanced the budget … remember when Republicans were the party of fiscal responsibility?)”
The Dish 