I disagree with Michael Barone:
The same people who directed the campaign that defeated Hillary Clinton and routed John McCain, a campaign that raised far more money and attracted far more volunteers than any before it, have within a year come up with a legislative program that is crashing in ruins and that, to judge from recent polls, has left the Democratic party weaker than I have seen it in almost 50 years of closely following politics.
The 2008 campaign was an impressive achievement. So, in a negative way, is the 2009 legislative program that has left the Democrats in such woeful shape in 2010.
My disagreement is that I don’t think they were ever smart. They beat Hillary because there was a lot of antagonism toward her in her own party, and because her campaign was complacent, and “inevitable.” They beat McCain because people were angry at Republicans, he ran a lousy campaign, the economy melted down, the media were cheerleaders and refused to cover or vet him, and people wanted to feel good about voting for the black guy. And even with all that, he only got 53%. I don’t now, and never have subscribed to the notion that he “ran a brilliant campaign.” He was just the right guy in the right place at the right time. And now that the campaign is over (though you’d never know it from his rhetoric) and has to actually govern, something that he’s never had to do before, the shortcomings are apparent. Unfortunately for them, they believed too much in their own press releases, and the fawning media coverage. Fortunately for the country, he’s inoculated us against leftists for another generation.
Everything you say here is right on the money. I might add something, Rand. I remember, as a Republican on the Hill, I always heard how brillirant Karl Rove was. All I thought of was: “If he’s so brilliant, why did Bush end up barely squeaking by when he was running against such awful candidates as Al Gore and John Kerry?”
Mrs. Schtumpy is as apolitical a person as I know. She does her homework before elections, on both 2 and 4 year cycles, but she does not spend 1400 odd days between Presidential elections watching the daily fray.
Last night during someone’s news coverage, she looks up, sees Obama prattling on about something and says, “Is he EVER going do something and just BE the President, and stop RUNNING to be the President? He’s like a political Eveready bunny.”
If the non-political folks see it, that just about wraps it up for him, doesn’t it? And of the die hard Obama voters I know, few seem ready to vote for him again, in Primaries or General Elections.
Obama has been “misoverestimated” big time. I think we can credit the mainstream media almost entirely for Obama’s victory. They basically threw the election. I seem to remember some pundit saying they could give Kerry a 15 point bump, yet he still lost against Bush. Unfortunately there was no equivalent to the Swiftboat crew to expose Obama for what he really is.
Let’s not forget Obama’s much reduced reticence in shaving ethical corners, such as his organizing in early caucuses (note that in states with elections HRC clearly beat Obama), and fund raising. Of course, you could claim those as fruits of Old Media’s assistance since anyone that Old Media didn’t like that tried it would have been hammered every day on it.
“…and fund raising.”
Turning off that credit card verification system was brilliant, brilliant!! I’ve never seen someone find so many loopholes and then say “What?”
“Turning off that credit card verification system was brilliant, brilliant!! I’ve never seen someone find so many loopholes and then say “What?””
Now the regulations has made that VERY hazardous.
I could get that guy in some pretty expensive trouble in the next elections. He doesn’t like the banks, and the banks don’t like him so it should be rather entertaining.
Oh, I don’t know. Obama came off very polished during the campaign. That, I think, is what pulled him through.
It’s high time we recognized that the “gift of gab” is not strongly correlated with overall brainpower. I’ve known guys who were dumb as rocks, but who successfully could proverbially sell ice to eskimos, or convince any lay person that they were completely familiar with the intricacies of rocket flight or QED, even when they barely passed remedial college algebra. Those guys today, not coincidentally, are extremely wealthy. No lie. These are real people.
I linked to my favorite political cartoon