The Best Man, (not the best man....)
Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 7:50 pm
I have always loved American political plays and movies, and one of the best was Gore Vidal's The Best Man.
My thoughts have been brought back to the movie, in which a bitterly fought presidential nomination battle between the candidates played by Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson (Russell and Cantwell) reaches Convention with a deadlock in place. The trouble is that both are fatally flawed, Russell as an Eastern Establishment wimp, and Cantwell as a hated amoral moralist, who also may, or may not, have sought active homosexual activity as a soldier in WW II from a man under his command.
They can choose to fight to the end and see who survives, (especially after the homosexual charge is made public)
Russell reaches new self-knowledge, though, and concludes that he would not want the nomination, if that is what it would take. And realizes he has anothe option: since there is a third, minor candidate still on the ballot, Governor Merwin, he throws his support to Merwin; the floodgates open, and all the delegates supporting Cantwell out of fear stampede to join the switch, and, almost immediately, Merwin is nominated. The implication is that, with this switch, "the best man" -- of the three -- has won, seemingly, even though cynically this means simply that a zero beats two negatives.
I am reminded of this scenario every day, as Hillary and Barack beat on each other, and while I realize that the rules of the current day make it almost impossible that the convention games of the previous era would happen, I have in my imagination the thought of both campaigns tanking, and Hillary choosing to quit, carrying most of the superdelegates along, to support.... John Edwards.
My thoughts have been brought back to the movie, in which a bitterly fought presidential nomination battle between the candidates played by Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson (Russell and Cantwell) reaches Convention with a deadlock in place. The trouble is that both are fatally flawed, Russell as an Eastern Establishment wimp, and Cantwell as a hated amoral moralist, who also may, or may not, have sought active homosexual activity as a soldier in WW II from a man under his command.
They can choose to fight to the end and see who survives, (especially after the homosexual charge is made public)
Russell reaches new self-knowledge, though, and concludes that he would not want the nomination, if that is what it would take. And realizes he has anothe option: since there is a third, minor candidate still on the ballot, Governor Merwin, he throws his support to Merwin; the floodgates open, and all the delegates supporting Cantwell out of fear stampede to join the switch, and, almost immediately, Merwin is nominated. The implication is that, with this switch, "the best man" -- of the three -- has won, seemingly, even though cynically this means simply that a zero beats two negatives.
I am reminded of this scenario every day, as Hillary and Barack beat on each other, and while I realize that the rules of the current day make it almost impossible that the convention games of the previous era would happen, I have in my imagination the thought of both campaigns tanking, and Hillary choosing to quit, carrying most of the superdelegates along, to support.... John Edwards.
