August 18, 2008
The old coot beats the rockstar
Democrats chose a guy who speaks well and connects with the public and John-old-boring-white-guy-McCain won their first townhall-like appearance? That's...surprising.
On a related note, the IC says that he is amused by how excited people get to see me. No, he doesn't mean they're excited because I'm so charming and adorable which, duh, I am, he means because for so many people in New York I'm the only Republican they know. They remember me from a party three years ago or they've heard about me ("the Republican") from their friends. They see me and their eyes light up and they can't wait to tell me all the things they've thought about since our last meeting. The thing they all have in common, and have since, oh 2002, is that they all think the Democrat is going to win and they can't wait to tell me so. They were all completely shellshocked when Bush was re-elected in 2004, obviously, but nothing will compare to the devastation if Obama loses. There is a uniform smirk that they all have these days, almost like "silly Republican friend of a friend, can't you see Obama can't lose?" I mostly nod and smile and tell them that I consider Obama a 4 on a 1-10 scale and McCain a 5 so, y'know, I'll live. Blue states should have smelling salts and anti-depressants on hand if somehow, some way, John McCain pulls this thing off.
Posted by Karol at August 18, 2008 02:55 PM | TrackBackTechnorati Tags: Saddleback+Forum John+McCain Barack+Obama
Aren't you being a bit presumptive? I mean, the Dem Primary ain't over yet. Oh, wait, you mean that it is? So what about that roll call at the convention? Oh, pure stagecraft? Right.
I think, were I a Democrat, I'd be a lot more confident of Obama's chances if he'd actually won his primary. Or, you know, folks weren't saying he "had to" have Hillary as his VP. Might need those smelling salts next week, nevermind come November.
Posted by: James at August 18, 2008 04:42 PMAhem... http://adage.com/campaigntrail/post?article_id=129896
Posted by: Ken at August 18, 2008 05:53 PMYou are the only red headed Republican I know in NYC.
That's why I get excited when I see you.
Posted by: Jake at August 18, 2008 10:05 PMYes, the spirit of Pauline Kael lives on. You'll recall that after the '72 landslide, she observed that she couldn't believe that Nixon had won, since she didn't know anyone who had voted for him.
Posted by: Casca at August 19, 2008 01:21 AMAs many others have pointed out, Obama is doing worse than Kerry did at this time in 2004. It's only gonna get worse, too, as the hopey-changey sheen wears off.
You have the numbers about right, though. Hopefully McCain will pick a conservative for a running mate. I could get a tiny bit excited then.
Posted by: Eric at August 19, 2008 05:27 AM
