McClellan and the 1864 Campaign

There are times when the lines are distinctly drawn on the large issues of the day. The campaign of 1864 was one of those occasions. Logically, one could have stood for saving the Union tied with the abolishment of slavery or call for peace and disunion.

We are told that generals embody strong principles while politicians are malleable when confronted with public opinion. Abraham Lincoln, forced to balance the Radicals and the conservatives still left in his country, still managed to fight for the Union and reiterate his desire for emancipation.

The Democratic candidate, General George McClellan came up with the ingenious position of continuing the war to save the Union while allowing for the existence of slavery. There is no truth to the rumor that his slogan for the campaign was called How to Lose A Presidential Election in 10 Days.

McClellan wanted the Union to be as it was, slavery and all. Unfortunately for him, the reason the war was fought in the first place revolved around that position being untenable. It's a little like fighting the war in Iraq for three years and then restoring Saddam Hussein to power. The only difference is that McClellan's plan is much stupider. What did he think was the cause of the war? Did he think the South was upset that the SEC only got 5 teams into the 1864 NCAA college basketball tournament when they really deserved 7? C'mon George, everyone knew it was fought over slavery, which came to a head over the issue of its expansion into the territories.

Not only was it an irreconcilable platform, it was politically moronic. Did he think a large portion of the electorate wanted to die for no particular reason? Was he appealing to the huge Northern slave-owning constituency, who also wanted the Union saved? Maybe he was hoping the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause would vote Democrat in '64 as well. Lincoln fired him several years before; he could have went after the president's execution of the war. That might have made more sense. McClellan was an idiot.

Some might argue that McClellan's strategy wasn't so finger-in-your-penis-hole stupid because he was on track to win until the war's tide turned during the campaign. Much as is the case with Obama's success in the wake of the economic collapse in this campaign, those battles were merely the impetus for an inevitable swing in Lincoln's favor. His allies, specifically Republican Radicals, understood that Lincoln was their best option, but were playing politics early in the campaign. It's similar to the games that Hillary Clinton's supporters played this year. The bottom line is that George McClellan was imbecilic turd.