Who's Running?

The election of Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday as President of France brings into focus a much larger issue.

Mr. Sarkozy, a conservative to say the least, defeated Segolene Royal, a socialist to say the most.

While the French pondered their political future and argued about how to vote, I attended a wedding. At our table, somebody, unprompted, called Sam Sullivan "evil." The rest of the table quickly concurred, adding, "the worst ever," "selfish," and "How did this happen?"

When I told a friend of mine the next day about this extraordinary conversation, amidst the flowers and chocolates and the view of the sea, he said, "Yes, that's all true, but Jim Green would have been even worse."

Why?

"Because he would have spent all our money."

Kerry-Bush, Sullivan-Green, Sarkozy-Royal. The lines are frighteningly clear. All the choices are bad. In so many of the federal elections of our recent past here in Canada, the choice has always been for so many of us, "the lesser of two evils."

At least, in NIxon-Kennedy, one had the sense that a real choice was being made, one that would strongly set a new direction for a country.

In Harper vs. Anyone From the Liberals, so many of us voted Aybody but the Liberals. And we continue to hold our breath and our noses during the harper administration, hoping against hope, that we will never have to succomb to a Stephane Dion Parliament.

So what is the problem exactly? How have we come to this perilous place in modern Western democracies where there is hardly a Good man left? Was it ever thus?

Has politics become such a scoundrel's bath that no decent person will be seen within a mile of it?