LINDSEY BOERMA
Staff Writer
The start of baseball season triggers a slew of aesthetic sensations — children clad in festive team memorabilia, hot dogs roasting in their respective rotisseries and the dirt on the field perfectly conditioned for the prospect of a new year. Now, add President Bush getting booed by thousands of fans, and you’ve got an exact picture of the baseball season opener Sunday at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.
I wasn’t there, but I didn’t have to be. The scenario was broadcast to the entire country on ESPN, and it was made very clear what Bush’s status in this country has become — a joke.
Aside from the disturbing lack of patriotism apparent in this situation, I believe it encapsulates an entirely different set of ramifications, as well. America’s disapproval of Bush could be a serious subliminal factor in the 2008 presidential race.
The most tangible evidence of this effect can be seen in the media’s portrayal of presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
McCain can’t seem to catch a break. When he was still combating his Republican rivals for his party’s spot on the general election ballot, the key argument made against him was that he was too liberal to represent the conservative base. Now that he has the nomination sown up, however, the headlines are changing to highlight an entirely different aspect — his similarities to Bush.
I don’t get it. How can Americans be privy to two such diverse sides of the spectrum and still regard them both as fact? It is an unfeasible concept that someone can be a liberal as well as the understudy to Bush, a man incessantly criticized for his overly conservative actions.
Yet, despite its absurdities, it is a portrayal that has been embraced by most Americans. The insinuation is that a vote for McCain is a vote for Bush, and voting for a man frequently deemed the worst executive leader in American history is not something in which a lot of people want to take part.
Cue the Democratic candidates’ role in this election conundrum.
It is a simple matter of association. Bush has been labeled as bad, and Bush is a Republican. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, do not carry the burden of the Republican name, and thus are viewed by many Americans to be the answer to our country’s problems.
Republican and Democrat are merely labels — superficial stereotypes that promote dangerous partisanship among Americans. Yet, in this society that has been created from a foundation of uneducated voting, these labels are enough, and could very well lead to the election of a Democratic president come November.
04-03-2008