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Gingrich in ego-inflated fantasyland; and why Cain ran
In 2008, after his tremendous upset victory over Hillary Clinton in Iowa, Barack Obama declared with assured certainty that he was going to be the Democratic nominee. In 2011, Newt Gingrich, without a single vote having been cast, but solely on the basis of current polls, declares as a certain fact that he is going to be the Republican nominee. Hubris, anyone?
But maybe it’s not exactly hubris. Maybe he’s just enjoying the delightful sensation of imagining himself to be the certain Republican standard bearer. And isn’t that, more or less, what most presidential campaigns are about, nowadays? Not preparing for and making a serious run for the presidency of the United States, but having the fun, fulfilling, standing-on-the-stage-of-the-world experience of being a presidential candidate. Isn’t that why Herman Cain ran, notwithstanding the inevitable exposure of his extramarital sexual life? It wasn’t that he fooled himself into thinking that his sex life would not come out; rather, it was that being a candidate for president would be the most enjoyable, meaningful, and challenging experience he could have in this world; and even if his adulterous career was revealed, damaging his reputation and his marriage, it would have been worth it. Email entry |