1 Boring Old Man

A house divided against itself cannot stand
Abraham Lincoln ₁

It goes without saying that McCain’s Rovian techniques rely heavily on this ancient Roman maxim of warfare. Divide the country on Abortion, then Homosexuality, then stem cells, then Gay Marriage. Divide the country along racial fissures, or ethnic lines, or social status, or ideology, or income, or culture. Any fault line will do. If there’s not one, create one. That’s how you build pockets of support in the Rovian system.

And the way to do it is to generate divisive Talking Points at a rapid rate. Obama’s a Moslem. Obama’s a Terrorist. McCain has an illegitimate black baby. Obama’s a Socialist/Communist. Obama’s a racist. Obama’s inexperienced. Even, Obama’s a fool. It doesn’t matter what happens, there’s always a way to spin it into some epiteth that can be hurled. And it doesn’t matter if the charge is outlandish or instantly refuted. If you throw enough of them at the wall, some of them will stick. John McCain’s campaign has been nearly 100% divisive – worse even than Bush’s.

Obama has done pretty well against the assault. He refutes some of the attacks. At other times, he fights the strategy, "They’re just trying to scare you again." But in the process, we have a divided country. Obama hasn’t been overwhelmed like Kerry was, but the best he could do was contain the contempt to McCain’s core supporters. He kept it from spreading, but he could not stop it from hardening the faithful. The result is that if Obama wins, he will have a deeply divided country to contend with. That’s not what he wanted.

When Patrick Henry coined this phrase in his last speech, he was speaking out against the States pulling against the Union. He was fighting for the United in the United States of America. Later, in Lincoln’s time, it was not just States pitted against each other, it was Regions – resulting in the Civil War. Now, even though we still see it as a battle for States, the divisions are more diffuse – actually split mostly between Urban and Rural parts of the country [though that split encompasses race, culture, social status, and a variety of other parameters].

Barack Obama wants to unite us, and the truth of Patrick Henry’s words is as undeniable today as it was in his time – but, as always, the "devil’s in the details." Both the Democratic Primary Campaign and the Presidential Campaign itself have magnified the already powerful divisions in the country. And there are forces that will attempt to maintain these divisions at all costs – Fox News, Talk Radio, the Conservative Press, the Conservative Think-Tanks, the Religious Right, etc.