Bayefsky: Focus, People

Opinion | Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 9:13:21 am PDT

We seem to have forgotten something: Focus, People.

Since the time of Hitler, civilization has never been so close to the brink of total catastrophe.  This American election will decide whether civilization as we know it will survive.  As much as economic questions are currently front and center, with blame to go all round, this is not an election primarily about corporate greed, or individuals living beyond their means, or government neglect of economic oversight. Nor is it about whether we should have gone into Iraq where, like it or not, American boots on the ground have begun to create an emerging democracy. This election is about whether there will be a nuclear holocaust.

Alarmist? I sure hope so. Isn’t it about time that we got to the point about the stakes in this election? How many more pundits do we have to watch talking about the minutae — a candidate’s look, an accent, a stumble, a slogan? We have four weeks to talk about the thing that matters most: a nuclear-armed Iran, and which candidate will prevent it.