I don't have a good feeling about the protest demonstrations that have already commenced in the avenues of New York. I think people have the right to protest, and there are times when they almost have the obligation…but I'm not sure I understand the goal here. Is the idea that the folks massing in the streets will cause either George W. Bush or the leaders of the Republican party to change policies? That ain't gonna happen. Or maybe the idea is that as Bush and Co. are inside Madison Square Garden, the protesters will be reminding America that a lot of G.O.P. claims — that they have the Iraq situation in hand or that we've "turned the corner" on the economy, to name two — are unsupported by the facts. That might make sense except that the Republicans will have little trouble arguing back that the marchers are a bunch of unAmerican lowlifes. (Five points to the first Fox News commentator who comments on their hair length, sexuality, drug use or personal hygiene.)
At a time when this country is appallingly polarized — what was that about being "a uniter, not a divider"? — I fear the protests will ratchet up the angry rhetoric, and maybe not in a constructive manner. A certain amount of America wants to believe in the institution of government over mob rule in the streets. If the choice is "Bush versus Kerry," they can get behind the idea that Kerry might be more competent because swapping a Republican for a Democrat does not threaten the very structure of our nation. But if it comes down to "Bush versus those rioting in the streets," emotions and sympathy can easily go to the guy in power. During the Vietnam War and its protests, I saw an awful lot of people gravitate to Johnson and then Nixon…and not because they really thought those men where leading the country in the right direction.
This was especially the case when protests turned violent. Even if the current ones don't, somewhere, someone's gonna take a swing at someone else. Somewhere, there will be blood to photograph. The press is dying to cover a riot because that makes for gripping television. And the G.O.P. is dying to portray the protesters as the kind of radical scum that Middle America abhors and to make the election be about that. I hope I'm wrong but my gut is telling me we're about to go back to '72 and the silly argument that a vote for the Republican incumbent is a vote against anarchy.