It is going to be an interesting evening, one of the continuing ever-more-thrilling pinnacles of American election history. Ohio and Texas may be “all she wrote”, or they may be a “turning point”. I think Public Enemy said it best: “Don’t call it a comeback…”
I hope you enjoy the roiling results and pendatic pundits tonight on the 24-hour news channels as much as we will. I am exhausted already, just thinking about it.
Full. Body. Transplant. 
C’mon Huckabee! You can do it!
Wow. She took 3 of the four… wtf? Open primaries FTL!!!!
I think we need to remember one thing at this point.
72% of Democrats said they would be happy with either candidate. It is getting hot and heavy now, but we will unite when it counts.
My wife and I had our first real political discussion (Thank you CSPAN) and I honestly don’t think the Dems can win. The main point: The longer the argument between the two goes on, the lower that 72% gets. With McCain locked in, open primary states are going to be rife with Republicans voting for whoever’s losing just to keep the drama going to reduce that 72% to the lowest number possible.
Then again, I’m horrendously biased. McCain’s been my political hero for the better part of a decade.
Not only are you biased, but I think your prediction is going to be way off.
We will unite, and this one is a slam dunk unless we completely blow it.
I’m interested in your side, because I’ve been wondering how the Dems are keeping their head up in all of this. The exploitable weaknesses are waaay too readily available. It’s not necessarily McCain is the best candidate. It’s more the idea that he can slam Barack or Hillary worse than can slam him. The politically involved and politically elite already know who they’re voting for. Then again, what percentage of voters only makes their decision the night before or the morning of an election? The Dems have too many chinks in their armor that can be exploited. McCain has his share too, but not on the level of attack strategies he has at his disposal. Those 24 hours are going to decide who our next president is, and as shown by 2004, Republicans can bring the heat in those crucial times.
Also, I have a distinct distaste for Obama. I was working the Ryan campaign when that whole thing went down and I’m not entirely convinced those events weren’t put in motion by Barack. I’m not going to even play that I don’t have a personal bias/investment. I’m terribly biased for McCain and against Clinton and Obama. That’s why I’m interested in your opinion.
I also have a personal bias (my mom and dad went to the Carter White House for a celebration dinner when he won), so I can only tell you the way it looks in my head.
George W. Bush is the worst president of all time. My students tell me that every time we talk, and even the serious historians are starting to use those exact terms.
McCain is going to be seen as more of the same, fair or not. He will be painted as the candidate who will allow big business to continue the destruction of our ideals and our economy. It will stick.
Not only that, but he is a truly awful speaker when it comes to personality and presence.
You may be right, the Republicans may be able to steal it with dirty tricks again. My students, poor underpriveleged inner city kids, say that their family voted against Kerry because he was going to legalize gay marriage as soon as he took office.
Stupid people rule, and you guys really know how to play them.
I still think it is a slam dunk this time, but I am very worried by the sheep and how easy it is to sway them.
Well any election will have Republicans calling the Dems bleeding hearts, and Republicans will always be portrayed as whores to Big Business.
I think McCain has better ground to stand on than your standard republican(Repugnicants as some of my friends call them) in that field. If you notice the rhetoric, they’re attacking his 100 years comment. Right or wrong, they’ll portray his in the ‘Old Money, Old Man, Old Ideas’ method they usually use. They’ll link him to a president so bad his own party is ashamed when they see an (R) next to his name. They’ll make it look like a vote for him is a vote for a third term for Bush. Those are the tactics I see being used against him.
Clinton… well it’s obvious. The standard ‘flip flopper’ package with constant reminders that she has so many skeletons in her closet she’s had to buy a new house. She’s an easy target. She doesn’t even get the ‘Not a good speaker, but scrappy and honest’ line McCain’s earned. She’s just cold, scary, and liberal. Somehow republicans can use the last one as an attack position. Don’t know how. We’re good like that.
Obama is going to be a bit easier, and harder. He has to build momentum with his ideals leading the way. in addition to needing momentum he has to face what he’s done in the past: Nothing. His time as a state senator won’t amount to crap on the public stage. McCain would paint him as a young idealist that doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. he might keep it friendly and speak of how one day Obama will one day be a great force of good for the country.
All in all, as much as I hate to say it, yeah… we’re better at the dirty tricks than Dems. I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth. Only through Dirty Tricks and possibly the worst possible choice for a dem nominee ever kept that ‘recovered’ coke head still in the White House.
Also: Don’t forget what happened last time the term ‘Slam Dunk’ was used to describe a conflict. It’s not going to be easy for either side.
Well said. All of it. It is making for the most exciting election year of my life, and we are loving every minute of it.
Onward!
I’m watching from the sidelines up here in Canada. It looks like it might be Obama … but honestly, I’d be happy either way. As John Stewart put it, all three seem much more likely to try for some bipartisanship. McCain was disagreeing with Bush before it was cool. He might have turned into a big Iraq apologist near the end, but his other stances have been far from the Bush agenda. Although he did do a bit of pandering to the religious right after having basically slammed the idea earlier.
If anyone knows about dirty tricks it’s McCain … considering how Bush got the nom over him in the first place.