I remember in 2000, I thought that there was at least one silver lining to the prospect of a second Bush presidency: At least he was not McCain. Bush provided nothing to be enthusiastic about, but looking at McCain at the time, this libertarian saw multiple reasons to prefer the former. McCain leaned “left” — or deviated from the conservative norm, for the worse — on issues ranging from the Second Amendment to campaign finance. Perhaps worst of all, he seemed significantly more pro-war than Bush, more enamored of both Clintonian and neocon aggression.

And now look what we have. After eight years of Bush, five of which have done all that’s necessary to disabuse us of any false hope in his support for a “humble foreign policy,” McCain is the candidate anyway, and, not unlikely, the next president. Silver linings might exist in modern electoral outcomes, but even they are fleeting.