Election Blues.
My last post is testament to 2 things:
1) 2.30 AM is too early in the morning to blog, and 2) I too often get carried away by my emotions.
I should not have let Obama's victory in Iowa make me believe that the Democrats would actually nominate candidate that could win the presidency...
No more hoping, no more dreaming for me!
posted by Torsten Pedersen @ Wednesday, January 09, 2008
6 comments
6 Comments:
Torsten....
You MUST HAVE the audacity to hope!! There have been two states, Obama won the first and Hillary the second. Read this article, it should give you hope, and perhaps a little levity to this election. Here is a quote:
"Forty-seven states to go, and now the national media must wait to declare the winners they'd been waiting all week to crown. The American voters are aware, of course, that Iowa, Wyoming and New Hampshire make up only about 5 million of the 300 million people living in the country, and until last night, the mainstream media didn't like to point out that only less than half of 1 percent of our nation's voting-age population has taken part in the primary process as of today. So how was this is a done deal? Give me a break."
I forgot to mention, finally, this is an election to get excited about. The field is wide open. There is no early anointing. Maybe we will be lucky enough to not know the nominees until their respective conventions.
Talk about exciting.
This is the way politics should be!
Hey Torsten
Charles beat me to the punch.... but I really don't think Obama is out of the picture. He is an amazing speaker, we watched his speech last night and even Charles was fired up about him. He has an energy that I don't even think Bill Clinton had. I also think in reality, people are getting tired of the Clintons and the Bushs in office. Isn't it time to give someone else a chance?
As for the general election... I think Republicans are going to have it tough this year. The party is sick of all the big spending that Bush has done, and are very distrustful of most of the people who are running, because they have the same type of record. There is no one out there who is energizing the party. I think really, the only chance we have, is if Hillary gets nominated. People might come out and vote Republican because she is so divisive.
Kiersten
Hi Charles and Kiersten,
I'm a born pessimist. Thats why I get so annoyed when I give into positive thinking and optimism. The let down too much for me...
The Democratic race shouldn't be over, but I think it is. Clinton has been ahead so long that Obama needed, in my opinion, to win both Iowa and New Hampshire.
Presidential primaries are about momentum, but this year with the 'super-duper-tuesday' (or whatever its being called), time to build up momentum is limited. Clinton has a firm hold on traditional Democratic voters, the momentum and lead nationwide, and only needs to maintain it for 3 weeks. Nevada and South Carolina doesn't matter, she can loose them and still maintain momentum into Florida and then Super Tuesday.
The Republican race is really interesting and open. I can't remember anything like it (well maybe 1988 Democratic contest was as open as this one).
I accept that the Republicans face their toughest election since 1992. Primarily because the Republicans have controlled the White House for 8 years and governments seldom last more than 8-10 years. Voters then usually want a change. However, the eventual Republican candidate should be able to distance himself enough from the present administration that a victory is very possible.
Since 1964 the Republicans have only lost presidential elections when they have been in complete disarray. Post watergate in 1976, and when Ross Perot's populism divided the conservative vote in 1992 & 1996. The Republicans will unite once they get a nomination (except perhaps if its Huckabee), especially if Clinton is the Democratic candidate.
p.s. I was wondering if the Democratic boycott the Michigan primary will hurt them in the general election. What do you guys think?
I still have absolutely no idea why Democrats would want the soap opera of the Clintons in the White House again. We have all been trying to figure out why Hillary won in New Hampshire. So far the conclusion I have heard, was because more women turned out for Hillary. There are three things that happened right before the primary, that seemed to sway the women into Hillary's camp. First, Hillary's tears at how hard the campaign was, and how much she has to offer. Then the man at one of her meetings that was shouting out "Iron my shirts". Lastly there was Obama's comment at the debate that seemed a bit petty to everyone about Hillary being likable enough. I still think that Obama has a chance... However, his record is now under a lot of scrutiny, so we will see if it holds up.
About the Michigan primary... It is quite frustrating to me that only half of our delegates are going to count. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be to Democrats, that none of their delegates are going to count. The party here seems to have confidence that will change. I read a few articles last night, where people were expressing their frustration. I'm not even sure Hillary will get the Michigan vote, even though her name is the only one on the ticket. I have heard commercials telling Democrats to vote undecided if they don't want Hillary. And I also have heard polls where the majority of Democrats are polling undecided, if you can believe polls.
I don't think these primary problems will actually effect the general election, though. People seem to have short memories, and I can't imagine Michigan going Republican. Even though it is close every election. The unions control all of the big cities, where most of the population is.
I do think that the Republican race is fascinating. I just hope that people will not get caught up in momentum. That they will vote for who they think will do the best job. I keep hearing Republicans talking about who we can pick to beat Obama or Clinton, and not about who they feel the best candidate for president is. I don't think that we should be picking a candidate just to beat someone else. I would hope that you would pick someone that you felt would lead the country in the direction that you want to see it go. Isn't that why we have Primaries and Caucuses?
Hey Torsten...Camelot is winning and it looks like he will win.
We can only hope that stops at the convention:
http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/
Cheers!
~Charles
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