I have read, heard, and seen a lot about this year's election over the past 12-18 months, but not once have I read, heard, or seen anyone say how obviously similar this election was to that of 2004. If you'll remember, that year also saw a close race between a mildly unpopular incumbent and a wealthy East Coast politician who was swept into the race by the crowning characteristic of not being the other guy. In 2004 the Democrats wanted anybody but Bush. In 2012, the Republicans wanted anybody but Obama.
I viewed this as a fallacy of the Republican party from the beginning, but I never did see where anyone else thought it was a problem. Mitt Romney may be a nice guy with a history of success, but he seriously lacks any kind of "wow" factor. He may have a "golly gee" factor, but that won't win an election.
This observation isn't meant as a slight to the loser or a pat on the back to the winner. I am just curious why the comparison wasn't widely made during this campaign season. It may be easy to say now, but I knew a few months ago that Obama would win, because I saw this scenario play out in 2004. Maybe now that it's deja-vu all over again (albeit in the reverse, politically), we'll read, hear, or see someone agree with this observation.
UPDATE: I guess someone was paying attention, at least at the Washington Post.
Okay, and maybe these guys. So I'm not the smartest, most observant guy in the country...I can live with that.
One interesting thing to note vis-a-vis the 2004 election is this insistence by Republicans that the "liberal media" killed Mitt Romney's chances of being elected. I would argue that this same media killed it for Kerry in 2004. Maybe they've grown more liberal since then?
I believe growing more liberal is driven by the fundamental desire for acceptance in this country.
ReplyDeleteI am blown away at the demographic results of this election. It appears minorities, which are actually the majority, voted for minorities. When you see statistics of 9-10 African Americans voted for Obama as well as 7-10 Hispanics, it cries out for attention for the rest of the country to wake up.
I watched a clip on Jimmy Kimmell (yes, for comedic entertainment, but perhaps that's when people are the most genuine) where he interviewed black men in a barber shop. He asked them something to the effect of "is there ANYTHING Mitt Romeny could do or promise that would sway your vote?" The answer was an astounding *&^*& no.
Another example is the "first openly gay" senator. I'm not dismissing the oppression/civil injustice the GLT community has endured, but the fact that her orientation has made headlines proves my point. People want to see and celebrate their differences and be accepted as an equal. I just hope our dollar doesn't crumble to sand while we try to figure out that Sneeches are Sneeches and no kind of Sneeches is the best on the beaches.
Maybe the takeaway is that Democrats are just as tribal as Republicans, they just have more "diverse" tribes.
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