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There’s No Inevitable in Politics

Now we have a campaign and a race! There is no putative front-runner. Each of the major candidates has won a state. There was a lot of “inevitable” talk only a couple weeks ago. It’s a good thing such talk was wrong. Then, Bill Kristol had pointed out on Fox News the folly of two states’ having voted and “everyone else is supposed to go, ‘Oh, sorry, we have to go home.’” He got some heat for that but he was right — now we know it wasn’t even two states (since Santorum won Iowa). The party deserves this race as it is cast now, and if it goes on a bit longer, so much the better. We have the worst foreign- and defense- and domestic-policy president in recent memory and we should not rush into picking our best bet against him. Sure, we’ve had umpteen debates, but we are still learning the vulnerabilities and strengths of the remaining candidates by the day, each of whom has certain attractions that have grown and deficits that have become more pronounced. And the next two debates will be more telling yet. We shouldn’t coronate in America, and when we do, we largely regret it. Whoever is best to take on Obama, let some more states and tough campaigning decide that — not just the money and not just the media and not just the endorsements. It all, at long last, pretty much starts now.

New on The Corner. . .


COMMENTS   4

EXPAND  

   01/21/12 20:45

Jesus God in Heaven.

10 months ago, I would have bet you my soul that the GOP could not possibly be so stupid as to nominate someone so utterly unelectable that he could lose to the disaster that is Barack Hussein Obama.

(I'm sure the Dems were thinking the same thing circa 2004.)

But here they are, voting for Newt Gingrich.

Hope? There is no longer any hope. Get Ready For Armageddon.

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Kentfromohio
   01/21/12 22:17

So, again, the dim-witted hayseed, the one many elites love to hate, Sarah Palin, called it right. She said slow down the process. Todd endorsed Newt. Iron sharpens iron. Two states don't get to pick the nominee for the whole country. Her simple, direct, intelligent commentary is in stark contrast to the "herd the sheep" comments we get from so many in the "conservative" lamestream media. But she is consistently wiser that the so-called wise. Thank you Sarah for believing in the idea of the people selecting the candidate.

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Dai Alanye
   01/21/12 23:10

Who the devil invented this new word "coronate?" Can we go back to "crown?"

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   01/22/12 08:05

Seth is often on Bill Bennett's radio show, which is a smug celebration of the erudition of the host, augmented by encomiums from the subordinate voices and callers until 9am finally arrives.

Seth should know, therefore, we don't coronate for the same reason we don't orientate: these are not verbs. (In fact, they are not even words.)

If we were to have a coronation, we would crown the man king, just as if we were to change our orientation, we would orient ourselves.

Come on Seth, word up! (And don't tell me I am bifurcating hairs.)

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