The Obama That Wasn't There

I need to talk about that empty chair. You know the one I mean.

I adore Clint Eastwood. I've enjoyed most of his movies and I've always completely ignored his distaste for liberals.

The empty chair was, as Jon Stewart called it, a fistful of awesome.

The expression “straw man argument” has never been strong enough to describe how the right wing has discussed Obama (and Clinton before him—it’s not entirely about Obama being black). The right wing has spilled enough ink to fill the Exxon Valdez and blasted out billions of words discussing, hating and fighting someone who does not exist.

And they can’t figure out why they aren't more successful swaying people to their point of view.

What sane person would vote for a Muslim, socialist who admires terrorists and wants to destroy the country, throwing the USA into a North Korean-style nightmare of 
totalitarianism and poverty?

How can 51% of the nation’s voters embrace that?

The answer is, of course, they don’t.

The Muslim, socialist, terrorist-loving Kenyan doesn't exist.

Obama isn't perfect. He refused to punish Bush-era torturers. He is secretive, invoking state secrets privileges to prevent detainees from getting fair trials. He’s all about warrantless searches. And you don’t want to get me started about his prosecution of the drug war!

But as Obama once said (and he was quoting someone else) “Don’t compare me to the Almighty, compare me to the alternative.”

Everything Obama gets wrong, the other side applauds and would do with even more energy and thoroughness. They solemnly promise it. They ignore the fact that Obama does it because it doesn't fit on the empty chair.

And Romney is stuck with these people. He’s hitched his wagon to the Republican star. Forty years ago he would have been comfortable playing Richard Nixon on TV. Now he is forced to become a pale mimic of Rush Limbaugh. He sucks at it, but what can he do?

Romney craves a title that reflects his station in life. Queen Elizabeth II wouldn't be allowed to confer an Earldom on him, even if she could be persuaded to do it. The best Romney can do is “president.” If he has to kiss the collective behind of a bunch of unhinged ideologues to accomplish that…well, it’s just the price of doing business.

And this strategy might have worked if the Republicans were still the party of Richard Nixon. Instead, he is up to his eyeballs in a bunch of people who spend all their energy shaking their fists at an empty chair.