Reihan continues his election blogging:
Assuming Barack Obama wins, as looks very likely, I’ll be rooting for him to lead the country through a difficult period. Of course I’ll criticize and cajole him with the help of my tiny soapbox. But I certainly won’t be looking to tear him down. And as I noted in my last post, I think that partisan intensity matters and I really just want America to have a breather after eight traumatic years.
He adds later:
America is a strange, diverse, sprawling country, and our elections reflect that fact. There are loyal black Democrats in California who will turn out for Obama and who will also vote yes on Prop 8, a measure that will strip a non-trivial number of married couples of their rights. There are lukewarm Republicans who will turn out because they believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim. There are good and decent people who believe crazy, bigoted, terrible things. And they are part of this process. I don’t think we do any good by demonizing each other. Let’s forcefully argue against equal marriage rights, let’s educate people about the canard that a believing Christian is somehow a Muslim, or, for that matter, that American Muslims like yours truly represent a danger to democracy in the first place. But we have to find some way to live with each other. Good grief.
The Dish 