As journalist Monica Langley wrote, Axelrod . . . set out "seven pillars" the campaign must do well: the vice-presidential choice, the convention, a European trip to meet with heads of state and the four debates.
We said Axelrod/Obama had trouble with the first three “pillars.” But didn’t Obama-Biden win the four debates (Axelrod’s “pillars” 4-7), displaying steadiness and calm?
Why not? Front-runners are always steady and clam. And America’s September-October financial meltdown provided Obama his best possible outside event, vaulting him to a significant lead. Wall Street’s panic brought the Bush administration back before the cameras. Bush as president had responsibility for the economy. McCain wanted to be talking about foreign policy, anything but Bush. Obama wanted attention on Bush’s economy. Democrats, before September 15, were struggling to make the economy an issue. Things seemed bad, there were potential housing and credit crises, but the country was still growing.
No wonder McCain misspoke on September 15 [picture]. He needed the economy working. He had no backup plan for the economy going bad in a big way, an event that always turns out the party in power. Additionally, the Great Depression, the Kennedy-Johnson years, and Clinton’s presidency (“It’s the economy, stupid”) all tell us Democrats help us get out of bad economic situations caused by Republicans. So McCain inexpertly tried to wish an economic crisis away (“fundamentals are strong”).
Obama and victory’s 1000 other fathers are chief beneficiaries of an economy gone very bad—bad at just the time to settle an election.
2 comments:
Hi Dad,
I think it odd to call Biden a "blown choice" and Palin a good one. This is not a matter of opinion - we have polls that tell us the opposite is true.
By election day the polls were showing Biden with high favorability and high positives (fav minus unfav) and Palin, by contrast, in negative territory. Hence, Biden was a good choice and Palin a bad one. Not complicated.
Exit polls also reveal voters' doubts about Palin, and doubts about McCain as a result of that choice. All in all, a disaster for McCain - momentary post-convention boost notwithstanding.
That said, I do not deny the importance of economic issues in this race. I think you are correct that this is the prime mover behind the entire election (a point also being made by others).
Aloha,
Derek
Ah, Palin-Biden. Exit polling showed that comparing the McCain-Obama votes of those who thought Palin was important to their decision to those who said she wasn’t, the group that made Palin important voted in a higher percentage for McCain than those who didn’t. That means Palin helped McCain. Such a comparison is better than the raw “favorable/unfavorable” question where 49% had an “unfavorable” opinion of Palin, and an even larger percentage voted Obama-Biden. For Obama voters, Palin did become an obvious rationale for rejecting McCain, thanks to the media’s extremely rough treatment of her.
Something should be said about Biden’s comment, “"Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here if you don't remember anything else I said. Watch, we're gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.
“I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate," Biden said, mentioning the Middle East and Russia. "And he's gonna need help. And the kind of help he's gonna need is, he's gonna need you - not financially to help him - we're gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not gonna be apparent initially, it's not gonna be apparent that we're right. Gird your loins. We're gonna win with your help, God willing, we're gonna win, but this is not gonna be an easy ride. This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It's like cleaning the Augean stables, man.”
These are the words of someone only in semi-touch with reality. Biden sees himself as Cheney to Obama’s Bush. Biden is the wise expert who will pull the neophyte Obama through the inevitably rough first year. The poor man doesn’t realize the LAST THING Obama wants is a Dick Cheney-like veep. Sad, just sad. Biden is the real Dan Quayle II, except this time, the media are doing their best to hide the truth, not expose it.
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