Is Hope Itself...

Old Grandpa Shorty was an ornery cuss.  I recall tales of bootlegging liquor out of the trunk of the family sedan during prohibition, gambling, and carrying on the Irish traditions in general.  One of his favorite sayings was "I wish I wish I wish, well wish in one in hand and shit in the other and see which ones gets full first".  Crude yes but a fair enough retort to wishful thinkers.

Substitute wish with hope and you get the thinking of recent McCain defectors, and a huge number of Obama supporters in general I submit. I noticed a pattern after watching Colin Powell endorse Obama on Meet The Press last Sunday.  A lot of these folks who would normally vote for the Republican based on ideology plan to vote for Obama in spite of his.  They are contradicting there own history and ideals to vote for hope and change. 

I like Noonan, Frum, and Brooks, don't always agree with them and can write their defections off as a means of getting along with their Manhattan and DC neighbors.  But these other guys, what is up with that?

Here's what I mean;

Christopher Buckley,
... did not claim that Obama's policies are better. Indeed, he wrote that he will "pray, secularly" for Obama to betray the traditional left-wing politics he espouses.

Colin Powell
 ...told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he supported Obama "because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America" -- not because of Obama's position papers.

Ken Adelman
...I sure hope Obama is more open, centrist, sensible—dare I say, Clintonesque—than his liberal record indicates, than his cooperation with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid portends.

Chicago Tribune Editors
Granted, it's disappointing that Obama's mix of tax cuts for most people and increases for the wealthy would create an estimated $2.9 trillion in federal debt. He has made more promises on spending than McCain has....We do, though, think Obama would govern as much more of a pragmatic centrist than many people expect.

Let's hope so.     

One after another is hoping aloud that Obama will be someone other than he himself claims, or his record shows, him to be.  I wonder if this is cover for when the hopenchange curtain is lifted and exposed as the utter vacuity it is.  That or they really really really hate John McCain.

I am reminded of the young bride who enters into a marriage knowing her groom is a scumbag yet somehow believes he will change once they are married. Uh, good luck with that.

Obviously these people know Obama better than I do, some even personally, but these endorsements show a couple of things, in politics charisma can overwhelm principle, or those principles weren't that tightly held to begin with.