Tampabay: Ode to a candidate trying to be all things

The love song of J. William Nelson
(Did you really think I was going to do only one side?)

Let us go then, you and I,
With fresh poll data spread out as we try
Like a voter etherized
by droning rhetoric;
Let us go, through certain
half-deserted rallies,
The daily doings
Preaching abortion rights and
gun control in Tampa
But sawdust good-old-boy-ness
in the Panhandle:
Promises that bubble
like a tedious fountain
Of insidious spending
To lead Republicans to
an overwhelming question.
Oh, do not ask, "Who will pay?''
We'll deal with that some other day.

In the room, consultants come and go
Talking of how today's wind blows.

And indeed there will be time
To wonder, "Do I dare?''
and "Do I dare?''
Time later to assess what is still there
Inside, and for what I truly care
(They will say: "How sincere
he seems!'')
A suit well-filled, firmly to the seams,
My jaw clenched firm, asserting
a manly mien
(They will say: "His eyes
contain an imposing gleam!'')
Do I dare
Spray my hair?
After November there is time
For decisions and revisions
which a minute win reverse.

For I have known them all already,
known them all -
Have known the leftish Democrats,
when that was all right,
I have tacked and yawed my record
measured in coffee spoons,
I have seen the Republicans rise
and my party fall
Beneath its own weight, and seen
impending gloom
So how should I presume?

And I have known the voters already,
known them all -
The eyes that fix you
in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated,
sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and
wriggling to a win,
Then how should I begin
To promise all things to all people
every day and way?

Shall I say, I have ridden the shuttle
into outer space
And presided as insurance chief
(hey, with no big hurricane!),
And then maybe bring up
the shuttle stuff again?

I am no prophet - and here's
no great matter;
I have seen the moment of
my greatness flicker,
And I have seen the press hold
my coat, and snicker,
And in short, I was afraid.

And would it have been worth it,
after all?
Would it have been worthwhile,
After the stiff grins and the handshakes
and the lifetime spent,
After the chicken dinners,
after the money-begging,
after the polite chat at the door,
And this, and so much more?
Would it have been worthwhile
If one, not in office,
as if throwing off a shawl,
And turning toward the window,
should say:
"That is not it at all,
That is not what I meant, at all.''

I grow bold . . . I grow bold . . .
I shall wear my shirt
with both sleeves rolled.

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