Lost causes

As a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Lions, I know all about lost causes. My tendency to back losers unfortunately extends to politicians as well. I was delighted when Michael Foot became leader of the Labour Party. I still consider him to be the onlyLabour leader since Attlee to be worthy of respect. Electorally and politically however he was not successful. Margaret Thatcher benefited from his weakness as an opposition leader, while Blair's New Labour project was a clear repudiation of the kind of Labour Party Michael Foot had represented and believed in.

As we approach elections in Canada and the United States, I am anxious that my penchant for supporting and feeling particular affinity with politicians who lose is about to be demonstrated once again. I was pleased when the Liberal Party of Canada selected Stephane Dion as leader. The alternatives were odious - Rae and Ignatieff are both men of overweening vanity and priggish self righteousness - and Dion seemed to offer a break from the pattern of cynical manipulation of the electorate that had become so typical of Liberal Party politics. Now, as Dion drops ever further in the opinion polls, he seems fated to be blamed for delivering a majority government to Harper's Conservatives and will be looking for employment shortly after October 14th.

Still, like many in the true north strong and free , this year I care more about what happens south of the border. I am not too disturbed by the prospect of a Harper majority government , but the thought of a McCain Presidency leads me to consider whether a permanent return to Europe might be in order for this retired person. I have long felt that there is a strong, fascistic element in American politics. The hyper nationalism with its absurd mythology, the in your face ubiquity of the American flag as well as the hatred which is expressed to those who dare express criticism of the American way are all reminiscent of European fascism of the pre World War 2 period. McCain personally seems to embody many of the qualities of the ugly American and in his absurdity, as Gore Vidal aptly noted, resembles no-one so much as Mr.Magoo. He is precisely the kind of political figure that the worst elements in American politics can feed off and who will be dangerously likely to flaunt, threaten and potentially use that one remaining significant American power - its military power to destroy.

My anxiety then, is that Barack Obama is one more lost cause. Is he too decent and too intellectually honest to electorally succeed? Is he too unwilling to be the kind of political pugilist that pundits seem to admire and that wins elections ? Will the catalogue of lies, rumours and innuendo that have been spread about him be of sufficient significance to deter enough people from voing for him? Most important of all, is his skin the wrong colour? Will we see a McCain win on election after the polls predicted an Obama victory? Polls that people lied to,
unwilling to admit that they would not vote for a black man. Is Obama the ultimate lost cause of our time?