A thread for anyone still unable to shake their pessimism?

[vi5]

Yes, I know there is a lot on our side.

Yes, I think Obama is running a great campaign and has made some excellent decisions that have worked out really well.

Yes, I know the country is fed up and want change.

But no, I'm not optimistic that we can pull it off. No, I'm not optimistic that their tricks won't work again. No, I'm not optimistic that that mushy middle who decide elections won't be fooled yet again with fear mongering. No, I just can't find the optimism within me to believe that they won't be able to continue to sell lower and lower common denominators.

As much as Bush, Cheney, and their ilk scared the shit out of me and proved all my fears correct with their foreign policy and worldview, I always suspected and figured that at least on the whole end times, religious right fundamental extremist stuff they were simply playing them all for fools to get their vote. What scares me about Palin is that she believes it. She'll act on it. She'll enact it. And I think McCain in his quest for power has ironically given up any last vestige of power he might have had simply to be called "president".

I really want to believe that we can pull this off but I just can't bring myself to give in to that. Seeing the media coverage does nothing but solidify this in my mind. Hearing that they are going to keep Palin from any press or questions for the next 2 months does nothing but solidify this in my mind. Watching them step up their efforts to work the refs (the media) and watching it succeed does nothing but solidify this in my mind.


Am I the only one seriously thinking we're going to wake up dissapointed again?

[KathieG]

1. I always live by..."expect the worst, but hope for the best" to avoid

nervous breakdowns...I would consider myself cautiously optimistic about this election.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

2. Agreed, but Barack is a better candidate then Kerry or Gore was,

McNuts is not as good as Dimson was and the field of battle is much more favorable for victory.

[Stuart G]

4. Not only that, I believe that Axelrod is as good as Rove, if not better

Rove won by cheating, Axelrod helped Obama to win fair. Obama's team is the best team we have had since Clinton 92. Maybe better. Let us not give up. These goons may self destruct. I doubt that our team will.

[salonghorn70]

3. I'm Not A Pessimist But I Am A Sports Fan

Sports has taught me that you can never be assured of anything. Each play should be played like you are 10 points behind. During a campaign, you should wake up every morning and campaign like you are 10 points behind. In football the ball sometimes bounces in funny ways. In politics expect the unexpected.

By the way, HOOK 'EM HORNS.

[Stuart G]

5. You are correct, and I think that our team is playing that way..nt

[salonghorn70]

11. Agreed n/t

[mokawanis]

6. I don't think of it that way

Either side couldwin this one and there's concrete empirical reason to assume we will lose. We might, but we probably won't. Hang tough, be optimistic, and see how things play out in the coming weeks now that the conventions are over.

[calmblueocean]

7. Palin has nowhere to go but down.

Think back a few months ago when Rev. Wright was everywhere. Obama weathered that storm and now Rev. Wright isn't even on the map anymore.

Sarah Palin is in the midst of her honeymoon as a national figure right now. That's not going to last. She's inexperienced, she's got scandals up the yin-yang, and her voice is grating. The longer they try to hide her from the press, the more shots people are going to take at her without any rebuttal.

Meanwhile, Obama cements his lead. He's leading right now... you know that, right? Electoral-vote.com says that if the election were held right now, Obama would get 301 electoral votes.

I would say "relax", but I don't think you should. We need every body working like the world is coming to an end. That's how we're gonna win this!

[MrModerate]

8. Anyone who's not concerned just isn't paying attention . . .

And hasn't been for the last 4, 8, 12, 16 years.

However, concern doesn't need to be pessimism. Yes, the cards are stacked against an honest vote count. Yes, many of our fellow Americans either hold batshit crazy beliefs or approach life with such limp intellectual rigor that there's some question whether they think at all.

This election is up to Obama-Biden to win or lose. Politics -- heck, leadership -- has never been entirely about honest counts, sensible ideas, or intellectual rigor. It's about moving people's hearts, playing on their fears, offering them positive visions, and steeling their nerves by painting narratives of what failure might look like.

In the last areas, we've got the stronger guns -- the much stronger guns.

I'm scared because the consequences of failure might be more dire than if Bush literally were running for a third term. But I'm also optimistic because if anyone can win against this wicked pack of zealots, our team can.

[elfin]

9. That is me -- all the McCain ads

blasting Michigan and Wisconsin are LIES -- and no one is countering them point by point - we need specific counter ads to their LIES about taxes etc.

I know way too many people ready to fall for this BS and who think that McCain will erase the bad Rethug policies once he has power and that the longevity of his Mother means nothing to fear about Caribou Barbie.

It is going to be close, to the shame of the USA. I a prepared to cry buckets Election night - either in ecstatic joy or complete despair of our future.

[bunnies]

10. Its positive attitudes like yours that'll keep us going when we need it.

:sarcasm:

[vi5]

14. Yeah, well it's also those of us who are worried...

who will work our asses off twice as hard because of that fear and that worry. So mock it all you want but if it's what keeps some of us going and motivated to get out there and work rather than sitting on our asses and going "WHEEEEEE!!!! WE"RE GOING TO KICK REPUG ASS!!!!!!!!" and drives us to maybe do a little more than thinking we're making any kind of impact by sitting around posting about what fucking nonsense Morning Joe said on MSNBC this morning then so be it..

[Solomon]

12. Well I was at Invesco Field in Denver and being there helped

make me much more optimistic because I could actually see people of all hues, ages, cultures, etc. all on the same page.

It really is astonishing when you consider. The republican party is the party that is all split up and fractured, not the democrats. The democrats have processed their candidate much more finely and as a result, there is great unity.

If you watched the republicans, you could see the fractures and fissures. Some of the old soldiers there are there because they're soldiers, but not for the other crap. Other slithers of them sat quietly while other factions clapped.

With Obama, everybody is stomping, clapping and cheering. Old white men, old white women, there were "rednecks for Obama", kind of a party for everyone because all of us, were on the same page.

I really believe that they are not going to know what hit them. Obama has tons of people volunteering to do things and they don't. It's going to make a difference just like spending more money on ads makes a difference.

I wonder sometimes though, whether with it's sophisticated use of technology, the Obama campaign has a way of determining how many votes will be cast for it, because it almost has everybody connnected through text messaging.

Just the threat that he might be able to prove a vote would be sufficient to back them off from wholsale cheating.

[Doremus]

16. Thanks for that uplifting reminder. FWIW, I agree. n/t

[A-Schwarzenegger]

13. What a bunch of weenies around here.

Watch out, it's your shadow!

:*

[Butch350]

15. As much as I hate to admit it - I agree with your assessment.

[stillcool]

17. My first day at the local..

Democratic Headquarters is coming up. I'm definitely optimistic! I've seen way too much buzz around me, plus I don't watch the television.