Noonan: What if Neither Man Is Up to the Job?

The election is about to enter a dark, mean period writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal, as the country confronts a terrifying possibility: What if neither man is up for the job? Thanks to the economy, anxiety is at a fever pitch, but “I haven’t heard a single person say, ‘Yes, my guy is the answer,’” writes Noonan. “A lot of shrugging is going on out there.”  

As the doubts grow, the election gets meaner. The once dignified Obama “gets tough,” a bad move because “people want depth, not ferocity.” Surrogates and supporters, beginning to doubt their own candidates, intensify attacks on the other guy. And behind it all is a deeper doubt: What if this election doesn’t help? “We make believe the election can change everything,” writes Noonan. “But deep inside we think: Ah, that won’t work either.”   (More Election 2008 stories.)