Another Damascene conversion

Seeing his confederate's cry of despair, Finlay McDonald the erstwhile editor of the Listener feels bold enough to put his own brave face on the forthcoming presidential elections.

Although the column is Finlay's usual lengthy waffle of half-truths and wishful thinking (which is undoubtedly why the Sunday Star Times has not put his column up on the web), two things mark it out. The first is the title:

Why a vote for Bush is a vote for world peace

and second is the conclusion:

Paradoxically, four more years of Bush might well be the lesser evil in the long run.

When one considers that Finlay was Editor of the Listener when it had treated the events of September 11th as America's fault, these words are a Damascene conversion. What has brought this about? Quite frankly, like Gordon, Finlay has despaired of John Kerry's ability to win the election (describing him as "about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" and quoting with approval Gore Vidal's quip that Kerry is reminiscent of "Abraham Lincoln... after the assassination"). The column is thus Finlay's attempt to find a silver lining in what he considers to be the equivalent of Hurricane Ivan.