The simplicity of it all

I got sent this (via electablog) link to this op-ed piece about the current state of the debate between Bush and Kerry.

A snippet (in case the link goes away in NYT archiveland)

President Bush was absolutely right when he said it was impossible to win a war against terrorism - it's like announcing we can win a war against violence. Terrorism can only be minimized and controlled, and that can be done only with a worldwide strategy, joined by all of the world's sensible and peaceful nations. We hope that when Mr. Bush accepts his party's nomination for re-election tonight, he makes that argument.

The chances of a serious dialogue about terror took a blow, of course, when Mr. Bush retracted his completely sensible statement about terrorism after the Kerry-Edwards campaign attacked it. So far, this has been an election season of monumental simple-mindedness, in which the candidates start each day by telling us this is the most important election in the history of the planet, then devote the rest of their waking hours to meaningless sniping. But it's certainly not too late to elevate the conversation.

Tonight we do not need Mr. Bush to remind us that he went to ground zero and spoke through a bullhorn. It was a fine gesture that any president would have made. As far as judging his leadership, it is as irrelevant as the famous extra minutes he spent in a classroom in Florida during a reading of "The Pet Goat" after the World Trade Center was attacked.

Which reminds me of my rant against the whole flip-flop moniker they insist on putting on Kerry. Because someone changes their mind, doesn't mean they are flakey or fair-weather, (it could) but it could also mean, they evolve or circumstances change or even gasp that subjects are more complicated that simple answers. The world (especially the world of politics) is a complicated place and there isn't one answer that fits all.

But one line, one simple answer is all that America seems to understand. Or want.

In a weird way, I long for the people who see morality in black and white because it is simpler. Having to think through everything and start out sentences with a deep inhale doesn't make your life easier.