Full Outed

I really like these words from D. Aristophanes at Sadly No:

I recall that back in 2004, when it looked as if Kerry might beat Bush, friends and I would talk about how nice it would be if we could get to a place where political arguments focused on disagreements in the policy margins — instead of being front-loaded by the wingnuts who dominated the rules of engagement with garish loyalty tests that derailed any meaningful idea exchange before it got off the ground. Obviously, we know how that turned out. Instead of a return to sanity, the wingers became newly emboldened and it wasn’t until the 2006 elections that the tide really started turning.

How long did the inmates run the asylum of our national dialogue? A long fucking time, and it blew goats so profoundly that it’s no wonder many of us have been unwilling to pronounce that the nightmare is over. If only for fear that, like black mold in your bathroom, the crazy would come back in full bloom if we didn’t keep scrubbing and worrying at it as if it was still a powerful force.

Well, I am going to go out on a limb and pronounce that we have finally returned to a place of political normalcy after our long nightmare. A place where ideas matter and seriousness is not a starving orphan in the corner. I say this not because there are no longer wingnuts amongst us — the wingnuts will always be with us (and thank God for that, since occasional outbursts of earnestness aside, I’m pretty much in it for the lulz). I say it because, if you really take a good look around, you’ll find that kooks like Pam and Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck and Dick Cheney have finally been fully outed as the freakshow monstrosities that they always were, and at long last, all but a handful of people finally get the joke.

I was just thinking this morning about how happy I am to watch the American populace getting used to having a President that can think clearly and communicate effectively. Aren't we all getting used to that? How can we not be, and how can it not affect how the country looks at new potential leaders? How can new candidates not be measured against Obama?

This, I think, is a very good thing.