Too Close to Call

By Alan Caruba

It often seems to me that Americans are as divided today as they were in the run-up to the Civil War. In those days the issues were states rights and slavery. These days, we are moving ever closer to the concept of nullification in which states refuse to enforce Obamacare and other federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind.

The most obvious example of the divide among voters are the elections in which a handful of votes decide the outcome. Try to imagine if Al Gore had won the 2000 election. We know now that he is the face of the greatest hoax of the modern era, global warming, but one shudders to think how he would have reacted to 9/11 or how many crippling “environmental” regulations and laws he would have imposed on the nation; not unlike the current President.

The collective memory of the voters when it comes to assessing the present primary election battles is slim indeed. Previous primaries were filled with as much rancor and strife among the candidates as the present ones; the trials by fire through which the remaining Republican candidates are passing.

Once again, the outcomes have been deemed “too close to call” by the pundit class and once again their conventional wisdom is a repeat of the past. If one listens closely to the hours of discussion among the various “experts” it is apparent that, with the exception of Fox News’ Karl Rove, they have little idea of the dynamics at work.

In a recent column, “Reagan Was A Sure Loser Too”, Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn compares the present campaigns with those of the not distant past and how similar they have been. McGurn reveals how wrong past pundits were and, in the present quest for a paragon of conservatism, that even the iconic Ronald Reagan as Governor of California “pushed through the largest tax hike” in that state’s history, “had signed one of the nation’s most liberal abortion laws…and presided over the doubling of the state budget over his eight-year tenure…”

Republicans have been deeply divided in the past as have national voters. The close election results demonstrate that.

My fear is that emotions determine election outcomes, not facts.

The results of the Super Tuesday elections, however, show a clear trend toward a Romney nomination as GOP voters begin to focus on who among the remaining candidates can defeat Barack Obama in November.

We will hear that every election is too close to call. We will hear that the November elections are critical to the future of the nation. Both are true.

It is folly to assume that the incumbent President will be reelected.

It is folly to assume that GOP candidates who clearly fell behind in Tuesday’s elections will pull a rabbit out of a hat to surge ahead of Romney.

It is folly to believe there will be a huge delegate fight when Republicans gather in Tampa for their convention.

It is, however, national suicide to leave the future of the nation in the hands of a man who has equaled and exceeded the policy and judgment failures of Jimmy Carter. The novelty of a Black President has long since worn off.

It isn’t a beauty contest. It isn’t a talent contest. It is not “American Idol” or “Dancing With the Stars.”

It is about your future and that of your children and grandchildren.

It is about the economy.

It is about the dangerous world we share with other nations.

It is about our obligation to participate in the primary elections and in November’s.

Let's make sure no one has the chance to say it is too close to call.

© Alan Caruba, 2012