Barack Obama and his supporters are jubilant these days, basking in the afterglow of their electoral victory. They haven't been terribly gracious in their victory, either, which I have long found to be a recipe for eventual disaster.And many scoff at the lessons of history, having just turned conventional wisdom on its ear by successfully waging an entire campaign dedicated solely to smearing the opposition. That isn't really anything new in American politics, but, usually, when a politician is re–elected to office, his/her supporters have an idea...
Friday, November 9, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
"If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things."Barack Obama2008 Democratic National ConventionPresidential elections are seldom about what they should be about.I probably should have learned that on this day in 1972 — or, at least, not long thereafter.As I have mentioned here before, my mother was a huge supporter of George McGovern, the quixotic Democratic...
Monday, November 5, 2012
A century ago today, an incumbent president was rejected by the voters.That might be a bad omen for the incumbent president whose name is on tomorrow's ballot, but, unlike the incumbent who lost on this day in 1912, at least he doesn't have to run against a former president who is running as a third–party candidate.(If, on the other hand, Barack Obama is re–elected tomorrow, that might open the door to another possible scenario that was suggested...
Sunday, November 4, 2012
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by presidential elections.Mind you, I'm not talking about election campaigns. Modern experience is that political campaigns are nasty, dishonest and undignified — although American history does have a few inspiring tales of elevating campaigns that go a long way toward redeeming the rest.No, I have never been fascinated by the campaigns. I covered some political campaigns when I was a general...
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