Sigh ...
In July, Rich Lowry concluded a column on the no-win situation President Bush faces with so many left-wingers with this summary of their reaction to the next election:
If he loses in November, the voice of the American people has spoken a devastating verdict on his presidency. If he wins, he stole the election.
As if to parody these low expectations, an apparently serious Eric Alterman, the liberal pundit and author, has now mastered this formula as serious analysis. With sparkling logic he explains:
I am going to go on record here saying forget the polls, which were wrong last time and will be wrong again this time. If Bush somehow wins, it will require an even bigger steal than four years ago. Nobody who voted for Gore is voting for Bush. The Democrats have registered millions of new voters who don't show up in the polls. Idiots who share Ralph Nader's belief that there is not a "dime's worth of difference" between the two candidates are far fewer than last time around. And lots more people have cell phones and can't be reached by pollsters. I'm not saying Bush can't win; I'm just saying I don't think he can win honestly.
So if you were hoping all the pointless, stupid controversy of the 2000 election would come to an end after this November, the signs aren't good. Aw Jeez ...
