Election 2008 – 16 years ago. For all intents and purposes, another galaxy. It was a time Obama supporters and McCain supporters could actually sit down and discuss differences without threatening to blow up each others house – particularly if the opposing sides lived under the same roof. But even in 2008, it was considered probably the most contentious election in recent memory. One that, when it was finally over, you sensed the entire country exhaled a sigh of relief that the worst was over and the future looked promising.
Not to sugar coat it or imbue it with a sense of the dewey-eyed nostalgia it doesn’t deserve – the 2008 election was fought tooth and nail. There was a lot riding on it and the alarmists, conspiracy theorists, and extremists were out in full force, taking advantage of Social Media probably for the first time – signaling the beginnings of the Blogosphere on both sides. No doubt, whatever seeds were planted have turned out to be crabgrass by 2024. Isolation by way of Pandemic and lockdown, inundated by bots and trolls, actively sowing disinformation and casting doubts – these were definitely around in 2008 but they have magnified a hundred fold by 2024.
I haven’t the faintest clue how all of this will pan out by November 6th (or whenever the election will be officially over), but using history as a guide and focus point, listening back to this episode of CBS Weekend Roundup Election ’08 Special may offer insights or just the notion that it doesn’t all have to be about being unhinged and threatening or confrontational over a rumor. There is a desperate need for cooler heads to prevail – will we learn that this time around? Or is this the new norm that we’re afraid it’s going to become.
But this is us; right here and right now and it feels awful – all we can do is pray it will work out and hoping this won’t be the first time prayers go unanswered.
Two weeks seems like an eternity – but in the meantime, go back to 2008 and hear what Dan Raviv had to say about our election in 2008.
