I heard a television pundit say something the other night that was very insightful. I know, remarkable, but there it is. He said, anticipating the event of an Obama election, that the ensuing political struggles would all be conducted between the two forty-yard lines. I think this is exactly right.
On the one hand it is reassuring for those of a conservative emotional temperament, because it means that there won’t be drastic, radical changes for them, regardless of what happens in the election. On the other hand, it ought not to be reassuring for those with true conservative principles, because it is only an accurate observation because the disputes between the two major political parties are the sorts of intramural disputes that we used to see arise periodically between Laurel & Hardy.
In contemporary political debate, the thing that is really striking is not so much the violence of the game, but rather that so much of it occurs within the central twenty yards of the field. You are not allowed to play on the other parts of the field.
Too many are distracted by the apparent vigor of the arguments, and they fail to notice the much more revealing datum . . . the arguments that no one is allowed even to advance. What could you say that would get you shouted down by both sides? Bringing up Obama’s birth certificate would appear to be a good example. Hawaii’s governor sealed it up today in a place where nobody could get a peek at it, and if you have a problem with that you obviously have a problem. You conspiracy nut.
Roe v. Wade reveals the heart of the progressive agenda like nothing else. If Roe winds up overturned, it will be because the Republican establishment had to play to their base one too many times, and they found themselves with a Supreme Court justice that got us to the tipping point. That is not what I am banking on, but it is what I am hoping and praying for.
In the meantime, professional politics is like professional athletics — but less and less like professional football, and more and more like professional wrestling.