Quote of the Day
"It's like the president's not our boyfriend anymore."
Joan McCarter, editor of Daily Kos, at Netroots Nation.
If Obama loses it will be because he lost the base of the Democratic Party. Fact: Obama would not have gotten elected without the support of progressives.
Labels: daily kos, joan mccarter, netroots nation, president barack obama
posted by Michael Hussey @ 4:16 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
There are two reasons why Obama won the 2008 election:
1) Uniting the base; which means not only roping in but energizing those on the left were more likely to, for example, be Nader voters in 2000 (college students, for example). Some of those harder left votes grudgingly held their noses for Kerry in 2004, but in 2008 Obama got those voters energized, donating, and working for his campaign.
2) The implosion of John McCain's campaign. McCain never had a message, and his campaign decisions were unpredictable, foolish, and obviously done to galvanize media attention towards his campaign -- ultimately, such actions made him look less presidential and more like a showman. McCain became a punchline rather than a figure of authority. This was highlighted by choosing a political unknown as running mate, Sarah Palin, who was embroiled in local corruption scandals in Alaska and preached "family values" while her 16 year old daughter was knocked up; and McCain attempting to "suspend" the campaign when the economic explosion provided the 2008 campaign's "October Surprise" a couple months early.
Now put yourself back in the midst of the 2008 campaign and imagine if McCain had picked Mitt Romney to be his running mate, right before the economy exploded. Like him or hate him, Romney has been a successful business man. Installing him as a running mate would have made McCain appear to have the kind of mature leadership and forethought needed in a president.
Would McCain have won the 2008 election with Romney as his running mate? We'll never know. But, judging from this graph showing McCain's poll numbers plunging after Sept. 2008, it's clear to me that once McCain stopped appearing presidential, that's when his campaign died.
The polls showed that Palin dragged McCain's numbers down. There is also 8 years of Bush. It would have been hard for any Republican to win.
It would have been hard for any Republican to win, especially with the Obama campaign so effectively mobilizing the left's base, but the McCain basically handed the middle/"swing" voters to Obama when he made choices that had the subtext of "Don't take me seriously." Like, for example, the disaster of nominating Palin for veep.
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