Well, for Phillies phans, tonight was painful. The team just didn’t play well. But I’m a soft Phillies supporter and, although I want them to win, I’m more interested in a competitive World Series. So far, so good.
After the game, I switched over to CNN and witnessed a conversation between Alex Castellanos, David Gergen, and Paul Begala about the need for John McCain to come to terms with his loss and show some dignity. It’s good advice, but it’s way too late. More interestingly, the fact that people are talking about McCain’s campaign in the past tense (including people like Castellanos) is important.
There are all kinds of reasons why some presidential elections shift sharply in one direction in the last days. I call this phenomenon ‘Winning the Argument’, and it happens when one side is defeated rhetorically and basically stops fighting. There’s a scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan that expresses this moment in a gruesome manner. It involves a hand-to-hand knifefight between an American GI and a German soldier. They fight like hell, but when the German finally gets the upper hand and slowly thrusts the knife into the American’s heart, you can see a final moment of acceptance. He has been beaten. You can watch the scene if you have the stomach for depicted violence.
McCain has a knife to his heart right now. And he can try to go out with some dignity or he can fight to the very last, using every dirty trick and dishonorable argument his team can dream up. There is an argument that McCain should consider more than his reputation. He should consider the cost of delegitimizing the next president in the eyes of his supporters. He should consider the behavior of his supporters and how badly they’ve been misinformed. John McCain should let his campaign die with a little dignity and some honor.
