---

BY WILL GLOVINSKY

In print | Published November 6, 2008

To the jaded voter who is politically informed but well-nigh tired of this two-year mud-sling, consider the upshot: it was cleaner — much cleaner — than last time.

Think about it. For all of the griping among liberals that next-generation Rovians had hijacked the McCain campaign, and the conservative proliferation of bad-sounding portmanteaux like “Obamedia,” this electoral season has been almost cordial compared to the Bush-Kerry race. Remember Bush’s forged military records? Swift Boat Veterans for Truth? This election has been dirty at times, but for the most part the contenders have kept the fight clean.
Less can be said for the crowd.

Voters have distrusted Obama for all the wrong reasons. They have questioned his ability to lead based on his race and his presumed Muslim ties (which is much more a matter of anti-Muslim prejudice than ignorance).

McCain did not help with his “Who is Barack Obama?” commercials, but he always directly contradicted any voter who questioned his opponent’s patriotism or decency. (Less can be said for his running mate; she deserves condemnation for being the most divisive candidate in this election.)
This has not been a fun race. Tension has been high, and voters’ nerves have been raw. If 2004 was a very important election, four more years of the same incompetent administration has only made the stakes higher. Liberals felt angry and vindicated and were determined not to lose this time around. Republicans were angry too when they saw their hold on the executive branch going the way of their Congressional majorities.

And yet, despite the inflamed electorate and the stressful circumstances, neither campaign delivered a brutal, below-the-belt blow. The fusses over Ayers and Reverend Wright were juvenile, but ultimately harmless signs of desperation. Importantly, no 527 group gained enough traction or gall to influence the election in any perceivable way. In fact, the group that acted most shamefully was ourselves, the voters. It was voters who shouted “Kill him!” at McCain rallies, who decided that they would have a problem with a Muslim president. It was voters (maybe?) who produced porn videos featuring Sarah Palin lookalikes.

Voters do deserve credit for choosing two candidates who both had spoken out against negative campaigning and smear tactics. John McCain understands the poisonous quality of whisper campaigns — he was the object of one in North Carolina in 2000. And part of Obama’s message all along was a new kind of politics. He even inspired MoveOn.org to dismantle their 527 apparatus altogether.

But there appears to have been a disconnect between the generally calm, respectful tone of the candidates and the teeming mass of electors who in polls said they were increasingly “scared” of what the other candidate would do.

Surely, liberals have something to fear besides fear itself. Everyone has seen the effects of George W. Bush’s “compassionate” neo-conservatism, and a reasonable person could be scared by the prospect of four more years like the last eight.

Conservatives, too, have their reasons to be wary of an Obama presidency. They recognize the failure of the last eight years and are afraid that the pendulum will swing too far to the left. It is possible they are angrier with Bush than liberals are — they expected better — and now his failures could result in a long-term shift toward liberal economic and social policies.

But beyond the many grievances that inevitably affect a political base, a pervasive cultural attitude has also allowed the political poles to increasingly fear the other side. The dichotomous labeling of blue and red has created the false notion that conservatives and liberals have entirely different goals, when in reality they mainly disagree over how to arrive at the same spot.

Given the close quarters in which they must work, most politicians understand better than voters the common ground between the left and right. (Governor Palin is the exception there.) Throughout the campaign, Obama has recognized the shared goals that shine through the ideological differences — like reducing unwanted pregnancies and promoting affordable education — and he has used them to ensure that his campaign does not become too divisive.

McCain, for his part, deserves credit just for keeping the Rovians from entirely dishonoring his campaign and himself. A few guilt-by-association attacks are pretty mild compared to what could have spewed forth.

So some praise is due to Senators Obama, McCain and Biden. Maybe next time we could all follow their examples a little more.

Will is a first-year. He can be reached at wglovin1@swarthmore.edu.

---

« RETURN TO OPINIONS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »