Some impressions...
I'm back from my trip to South Carolina (84-degrees and sunny upon arrival on Friday, and 44-degrees, rainy and raw when we left Sunday). It was a five-day trip...spending Thursday night in Delaware (not impressed), two nights in South Carolina and Sunday night in Baltimore. Along the way, there were two stops in New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina and one brief stop in Washington, DC.
Some observations I picked up based on talking with folks, reading local newspapers and listeening to local radio.
Voters who have not yet voted in the primaries are excited about having the opportunity to have a say in the selection process. None of these voters in the late states thought the race would last this long, so this is a pleasant surprise for them.
Voters aren't interested in how states voted. They see an opportunity to have their own say, and they're going to take it. Although they're not particularly pleased with the tone of the Democratic contest, that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue for them.
Republicans, however, are loving every minute of the Democratic slugfest. As far as they're concerned, it can go on...and on....and on.
Republican voters don't talk about John McCain in terms of being a supporter of his as much as they talk in terms of him being the candidate. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are the enemy, and they don't want either of them elected. (McCain is almost a default candidate in that sense).
Democratic voters are not pleased about the possibility of super delegates "hand picking" the nominee. They would much rather prefer that one of the two candidates bows out on their own after all the voting is done. The idea of a convention fight is not high on their list either.
And despite rising fuel costs, the long line of golf bags lying in front of hotels waiting to be loaded in the trunks of cars with license plates from up and down the east coast, the midwest and the south, supports the idea that people still intend on taking vacations this year.
Some observations I picked up based on talking with folks, reading local newspapers and listeening to local radio.
Voters who have not yet voted in the primaries are excited about having the opportunity to have a say in the selection process. None of these voters in the late states thought the race would last this long, so this is a pleasant surprise for them.
Voters aren't interested in how states voted. They see an opportunity to have their own say, and they're going to take it. Although they're not particularly pleased with the tone of the Democratic contest, that doesn't seem to be as much of an issue for them.
Republicans, however, are loving every minute of the Democratic slugfest. As far as they're concerned, it can go on...and on....and on.
Republican voters don't talk about John McCain in terms of being a supporter of his as much as they talk in terms of him being the candidate. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are the enemy, and they don't want either of them elected. (McCain is almost a default candidate in that sense).
Democratic voters are not pleased about the possibility of super delegates "hand picking" the nominee. They would much rather prefer that one of the two candidates bows out on their own after all the voting is done. The idea of a convention fight is not high on their list either.
And despite rising fuel costs, the long line of golf bags lying in front of hotels waiting to be loaded in the trunks of cars with license plates from up and down the east coast, the midwest and the south, supports the idea that people still intend on taking vacations this year.
posted by Ray Hackett at 2:31 PM
1 Comments:
For once I agree with you about McCain being the default candidate. We Republicans can deal with McCain exsp. If we get either the Senate or the House back but we are far from in love with the guy. He wil do but he ain’t no Ronald Reagan.
The flip side to that is McCain is enormously popular with Democrats and unaffiliateds. I think he will be our next president – of course I said the same thing about America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
I will challenge the notion however that popular sentiment is always right. Those who don’t want a convention fight are the ones opposed to a true democracy. How gutless is that? How un-American! I reject that. As the current oval office occupant would say --Bring it on!
What’s wrong with a convention fight? That’s democracy in action. I have been to lots of convention fights for congress and state senate. I assure you, there will be no bloodshed.
I disagree with the whole concept of super delegates (not very democratic) but that is the system the Abortion Party has in place right now. They can reexamine the idea at some future time, perhaps setting up different rules for next year at the convention this summer, but for right now that’s the process. There is no point crying about it.
Besides we insiders all know that it’s really Obama’s side that is pushing this theory that a convention fight is horrific because they think they are at a disadvantage. They are after all taking on a former two term President.
Give ‘em hell Hillary!
I was watching Hannity (maybe last Thursday) and Ann Coulter casually observed that Hillary is being treated like a Republican by Media Liberals. I independently came the same conclusion.
Take for example the Norwich Bulletin’s coverage of the primary race in Pennsylvania. Clinton is whipping your candidate like a red headed step child and in your story you never printed the poll numbers in the Reuters wire piece. Either the poll numbers were edited out or the bias of Reuters was rubberstamped by the Bulletin’s own editors. You could have after all put the numbers in the story. What is election coverage without poll numbers after all?
Thats one of those things that makes me go hummmm....
Clinton is 9 points ahead as of Thursday. That is a significant lead and should have been in the story. The spin by the MSM is now is that Obama is "catching up" but we all know that what’s really going on. As the race gets closer to the primary the undecideds either won't vote at all or will all vote for the challenger.
The perceived challenger or underdog in Pennsylvania is Obama. Another concept your side is pushing is that even if the Clintons win but don’t win big that she just has to, just has to, or the sky will fall!, drop out and endorse your man.
Another thing you are right about is we Republicans are enjoying the cat fight on the other side. I am a bit scared however because I feel your candidate is not only bad for the nation insofar as the economy goes, the Bush tax cuts, the Supreme Court, jobs, border control and so on but he alarmingly soft at National Security.
I keep thinking that if we are attacked again your man’s response is to send the killers flowers and ask him what we did to deserve it. He is an unserious person at a very serious time in America's history.
Besides liking Mrs. Clinton on a personal level, I think she is by far the best Democrat candidate as far as national security goes.
She will send our enemies something all right -- but it won’t be flowers! If she didn't promise to pull out of Iraq I would entertain the idea of voting for her.
Tellingly former one-term President Jimmy Carter recently sort of coyly endorsed Obama. He thought he was being clever by saying his whole family and his wife were voting for Obama but he is..well undecided -- wink wink.
Obama not only fits perfectly with Carter’s national security and defense ideology but Carter may also want to shed the Carters’ distinction as the worst President and First Lady in living memory.
Say what you will about Roselyn Carter, she never said anything remotely un-American as Michelle Obama: “For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country”.
-- Far from being crowned First Lady on that night, Mrs. Obama may have cost her husband the Presidency.
I sure hope so.
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