The accompanying Slate piece is kind of bad.
Last night's episode of 30 Rock seemed, on its surface, to be pure Obama propaganda, with Jack Donaghy running a PAC for Romney and fundraising, and Liz Lemon attempting to use her position as a sketch comedy writer as a platform to build populist support for Obama. All of the jokes were of course made at the expense of conservatives, but nary a word was spoken about either candidate.
It was clear that they were trying to be somewhat divisive. What the crescendo of this cliffhanger episode came down to was a fundamental difference in the voting populace. They were able to decipher which direction each swing state would go, and it came down to Florida. Both factions, the pro-Romney and pro-Obama camps, were able to narrow it down to determine how the states in southern Florida and central Florida would vote. It comes down to northern Florida, with their weird brand of libertarian, free-spirited Parrotheads. It's not known whether this voting bloc is undecided or casting a mixture of votes for both candidates (or are Johnson voters).
In the end, the division was more about the people on either side of this election, with the Obama voters representing an ideology much more progressive than anything to do with the Obama Administration. It reminded me that during the 2008 race, many progressives believed that Obama was a progressive. Even I thought there was a possibility that he was of the same school of Chicago democratic socialists and labour leaders as Walter Reuther, Michael Harrington, Daraka Larrimore-Hall, etc. My neighborhood is a far-left, diverse, well-entrenched bohemian haven, and the street party celebrating his win on election night was the largest gathering I've ever seen there, with all traffic shut down on the main thoroughfare for dozens of blocks. I think that a vast swath of this country was more prepared for a progressive president than we allow for here. Of course we know that the corporate interests involved in vetting candidates would never allow it, but as far as popular elections are concerned, I think we're ready. This forum was surprised by the Occupy Wall Street movement; it was exactly what of us had discussed and wished would happen — a populist uprising against "the 1%" — our language that predates my membership here, going back all the way to the beginning. In the days leading up to the occupation of Zuccotti, many here were skeptical that more than a few individuals would last through the weekend. We, as a society, are still progressing culturally.
This may not necessarily leave the door open for a third-party candidate, but if it were treated methodically and started at the local and state level, as Jack says, a considerable showing four years out is within grasp of our imagination.
