Cracked Window

Slipping from top of mind amid economic and election anxiety is the tragedy we call Iraq. But a soldier, a tiny plastic one in an unlikely place, reminded me today why Barack Obama appears on the verge of winning won the presidency.

Only Obama among Democratic contenders voted against the war. Without that opposition, he would have never won his party’s nomination. It was among the reasons I first felt the tug of his candidacy — long before he was an official candidate.

The unassuming soldier, a reminder of what we as a nation have wrought, brought the war back to me. How did it come to rest on a cafe’s outdoor table? Not just on a table but within the blood-red walls of a venue symbolic of smoke, fire, and death?

Each morning I obsessively pore over information about visits to Cracked Window. Not that the number is large, though this offbeat post about a bear campaigning for Barack Obama attracted more than ten thousand because The Atlantic magazine’s Andrew Sullivan linked to it.

I’m curious about what gets read how often — which posts resonate and which don’t. What’s also intriguing are keyword searches that lead to my posts and the countries that blog visitors live in.

Many people want simple answers to complex situations. They don’t care that the truth is a many layered thing, defying reduction to slogans and sound bites. What’s happening in Iraq is a crucial example.

With that prelude, I recommend two commentaries on the U.S. troop surge, an issue that John McCain muddles and twists for political gain. If only he would read the commentaries. They’re online here and here, but the man who could be president doesn’t know how to use a computer.

Not fully grasping an intriguing story appeals to me. Take Lisa Barcy’s arresting animation and Andrew Bird’s somber yet whimsical song “Lull” that accompanies it (click the image). The story instantly captured me. With each viewing, I see more in the drawings, hear more in the sounds, comprehend more meaning in this odd, fanciful tale.

I’ll be mulling it over for a long time, filling in gaps and creating a back story in my head. (Update: Turns out that the video is adapted from Barcy’s much longer Mermaid, which no doubt would fill in some of my gaps.)