Republicans’ Kris Kross Moment: I Missed the Bus!
I was in touch with a number of good friend throughout the night, sharing impressions and predictions, and at one point following Obama’s official acceptance speech we all wound up on Skype to record our thoughts on the night for posterity. There were nine of us in total and we each took turns offering our insights and proposing questions to one another. The most interesting question I received was what I thought of Obama’s victory as the closest thing to a conservative on the call.
My answer was relatively simple. I said that I felt that Obama represented probably the best possible world for both conservatives and Republicans. Undoubtedly Republicans and conservatives would have rather seen McCain win, I noted, but given the damage that Bush-Cheney had inflicted to the conservative/Republican brand, that just wasn’t in the cards and of all the Democratic potentials Obama offered an administration that was likely to be the most hospitable to conservatives and Republicans as they prepared for their time in the wilderness to figure out just where they went wrong and what to do about it.
Listening to Mitch McConnell on ABC’s This Week last Sunday, it struck me how poorly conservatives and Republicans are using this moment. [Read more →]
March 19, 2009 11 Comments
Frosty Politics
Besides, haven’t we seen this tactic fail before? Both Hillary Clinton and John McCain/Sarah Palin tried going nuclear on Obama at different points in the presidential race and both wound up looking like that kid who falls ass over tea kettle trying to look cool so he/she doesn’t get picked last for the intramural soccre team again. Wether you like his politics or not, you have to admit that Obama is a tough guy to goad, he’s much more inclined to let you play out your antics and then speak to the populace (or least the proportion that is inclined to listen to him) and ask “What the hell that was?” like a stage actor having an aside with the audience. It’s just hard to make a guy that smart look dumb, you generally make yourself look dumb in the process.
Now, governing as President is a lot different than running for the office, but the politicking that happens in the two instances isn’t so very different, especialy when it comes to attack strategies/tactics. Besides, does the GOP really have anyone who comes close to the unbridled ferocity of Hillary and Bill Clinton on the war path (now backing Barry)? And John McCain is a competitor, but he seems to have lost too much credibility in the race to really be a factor in at least the short term. Mitch McConnell? John Boehner? Seasoned politicians to be sure, but they ain’t no Newt Gingrich and don’t look to have the requisite chutzpah to really take the world’s beloved new President down. Attempts at a partisan coup instead of sincerely playing the perfectly respectable and extremely vital opposition to Obama’s majority will only further weaken their party and deprive the country of its much needed balance.
Time will tell, but I think the GOP looks to have chosen the road too often traveled — and that will make all the difference.
February 13, 2009 10 Comments
