Thoughtful members of the electorate will continue to choose between incumbents and opposing candidates for political office based on their experience and other trustworthy qualifications that go beyond that favorite of party hacks and the media: the likeability factor according to the latest Gallup poll. Reminder: likeability was a determining factor in the 2000, 2004, and 2008 presidential elections.
Tom Edsall, political editor for the Huffington Post; however, would prefer that in 2010 we not focus too much attention on mundane considerations such as actual qualifications for the office sought.
Edsall’s not so new advice to Democratic incumbents is to make the race about the other guy. President Obama’s remaining supporters on the left have been using that strategy since day one. They’ve met any criticism of Obama with comparisons to his predecessor or the team of McCain and Palin. By setting the bar so low, they hope Obama will continue to dazzle the electorate.
For obvious reasons, the present concern is the possibility of losing the Democratic majority in the House. Edsall writes:
Democratic incumbents face the most threatening political environment since the Republican landslide of 1994 -- and they know it.
The trends are all moving in the wrong direction. Voters are shifting to the right; white antipathy to the President has intensified; the popular consensus backing Obama and his agenda has collapsed in less than a year; and a growing number of center-conservative House Democrats are jumping ship. It's not that voters are suddenly becoming big fans of the Republican Party -- its poll numbers are falling just as rapidly as the Democrats' -- but political scientists and strategists from across the spectrum agree that simply by virtue of being the opposition, the GOP is positioned to make large gains on November 2. There's even an outside chance they'll wrest back control of the House.
"Edsall’s not so new advice to Democratic incumbents is to make the race about the other guy. President Obama’s remaining supporters on the left have been using that strategy since day one. They’ve met any criticism of Obama with comparisons to his predecessor or the team of McCain and Palin. By setting the bar so low, they hope Obama will continue to dazzle the electorate."
ReplyDeleteActually... what they should realize is that they should not set the bar so HIGH. As a war hero and an experienced state executive.
Obama cannot compete in either of those arenas. And Americans are beginning to recognize the consequences of his shortcomings. Where both the war on terror and the quest for middle class relief are concerned.
Big FAIL. GOP landslide 2010.
Hi SYD,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment as always. You make good points.