CE Week #5: “The General (Election) Begins”
February 23, 2008
By Michael Barone
It’s starting to feel like the general election. Rising to claim victory in the Wisconsin Republican primary before the networks could declare Barack Obama the winner on the Democratic side, John McCain started right in on his general election opponent.
He promised to “make sure Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change that promises no more than a holiday from history and a return to false promises and failed policies of a tired philosophy that trusts in government more than the people.”
Scorch. Some 40 minutes later, Hillary Clinton got up before the cameras and set out her platform as if she were the winner, ignoring Obama as she had on primary night the week before. Having not been extended this courtesy, Obama did not extend her the courtesy of waiting for her to finish before he began his victory speech.
The networks quickly switched for Clinton to Obama, who went on for 45 minutes, cutting and pasting platform planks into the unspecific ode to hope that has enchanted so many voters.
That camera switch may turn out to be the beginning of the end of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. She’s still hoping for victories in Ohio and Texas on March 4, but Obama’s margin in Wisconsin makes that seem less likely, and in any case, she will still be behind in delegates. She could win the nomination only with the votes of super-delegates or by counting the results in Florida and Michigan, where the national party commanded candidates not to compete.
Either move will strike many Obama enthusiasts — and others — as profoundly unfair. The way Clinton has run her campaign — like the way she ran health care reform in 1993-94 — undercuts her claim to be ready for the presidency from day one. In both cases, she had no fallback strategy, no Plan B, in case her best-case scenario failed to come to pass. She started campaigning in Wisconsin only last Saturday and had to cancel her events because of a snowstorm. Didn’t anyone check weather.com?
If you look at the numbers, if the general election were held today, Barack Obama would beat John McCain by a solid margin. (McCain would beat Clinton — another reason the super-delegates are unlikely to foist her on the party.) But the performances of the candidates on primary night — and the performances of their wives on Monday and Tuesday — suggests that may not always be the case.
Obama’s cut-and-paste job does respond to the complaint that he is without substance. But it’s hard to mix poetry and prose and come up with an appealing product. Particularly when, as columnist Robert Samuelson points out, there’s not much that’s interesting about the substance.
Then there are the wives. In Milwaukee on Monday, Michelle Obama, who has spoken frequently in the campaign, said: “Hope is making a comeback, and let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.”
For the first time in her life? Coming from the realm in which Michelle Obama has lived her adult life — Princeton, Harvard Law, a top law firm, a $342,000-a year job doing community relations for the University of Chicago hospital system — this may not sound out of the ordinary. As Samuel Huntington has pointed out, people in this stratum tend to have transnational attitudes — all nations are morally equal, except maybe for ours, which is worse.
This is not, to say the least, the view of most Americans, including very many who regularly vote Democratic. And it undercuts Barack Obama’s most appealing rhetoric, which emphasizes what Americans have in common.
Cindy McCain, who ordinarily doesn’t speak in public, picked up on this immediately. On Tuesday, she made a point of saying, several times, that she has always been proud of America. On election night, John McCain said he was “proud, proud of the privilege” of being an American.
I remember the electric feeling in the hall, at the first Republican National Convention I attended, in 1984, when Lee Greenwood belted out his country hit, “I’m proud to be an American.” I don’t believe that I’ve heard it at any Democratic National Convention, and I’m pretty sure that some nontrivial number of the delegates would find it off-putting, even obnoxious.
Barack Obama has explained that his wife was just saying that she was proud for the first time of her country’s politics. But that’s not what she said, and said with considerable emphasis. Tuesday night seemed to be the beginning of the general election campaign. But what was said on Monday may prove to be just as important.
Copyright 2008, Creators Syndicate Inc.
“Hope is making a comeback, and let me tell you, for the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change.”
As much as I think that maybe our country could use a change, I’m led to believe that maybe some people really don’t want change. Or as much as they think they do. Tax brackets or a flat tax, pro-choice or pro-life, bring troops home or send them – it doesn’t matter what the president thinks, you cannot please all of the people all of the time. Obama is all about change, but no matter what he does, someone is going to be upset. Our government is quite capable of change. If Obama wins the general election, the Democrats will win the executive branch which means that it won’t be long before the Republics take the legislative branch. It is not change due to two separate parties taking control of different branches, but it will be a change since Republicans have had the White House for quite a few years. We are capable of change, and as Michelle Obama said, “…I think people are hungry for change.” But exactly what kind of change are we hungry for?
As far as Michelle’s comment on being proud to be an American for the first time, I wouldn’t say that it was an altogether bad thing that she said. I interpreted it as – despite the college she went to, the job she holds, that doesn’t mean that she felt like an American. She clearly lived among some of the top Americans, but it’s the position you are put in under the circumstances. And the ridiculousness of McCain and his wife having to put their two cents in about “always” being American – no candidate can say anything personal without getting attacked.
You know, it really does seem like the general election right now with all the different negative things that are happening. Everybody is trying to rip each other apart when one candidate, Obama, is trying to stay above it all. In doing this quite successfully so far, the slip up that his wife had doesn’t make things any easier. John McCain’s wife really went after Michelle Obama for saying what she did and being proud of America for the first time in her adult life. Another thing that is playing a really big part in all of this is the media. The media really messed with Clinton’s campaign when the split up her speech to present Obama’s in full. You can tell Obama has all the media attention right now. The correct thing would have been to announce that Obama’s speech would be covered in full once Hillary’s is over, yet they did not do this. But I think this is because there is no right way in politics because that is not how the game is played. One thing that stopped all the punishment Obama was getting for the little slip up his wife had, was the news about McCain’s possible involvement with a lobbyist, yet again the media played a big role in this. This new development could have the potential to destroy McCain’s campaign if it proves to be true and if the media runs off with it, which I am sure they will.
Response to Mandy:
Although I understand your point, Michelle Obama’s statement was a good thing. She said she was “proud” of our country, for the first time, shouldn’t that be applauded? America has had a rough couple of years. War in Iraq, Social Security issues, and now a recession. The downward spiral of the economy is glaringly obvious. Especially in Spokane, where it seems like every house is for sale all of a sudden, and the food banks close hours earlier then they used to. We do need change, and we will always need change. I’m pretty sure Michelle clarified that she was referring that it was the first time she had been proud of her country in this election. Michelle, like her husband, is a passionate speaker, which mostly helps the campaign, but can sometimes hurt it. I think that the Democrats will be able to control both houses of Congress and the Presidency the next few years. It would be hard, but possible. Americans are hungry for CHANGE, and change usually requires something different from what we have currently. In my opinion, the President sets the pace for Congress. If Obama were to become President, he would pressure Congress for rapid change, and Congress would have to respond.
Hilary, I never actually said that Michelle Obama’s “for the first time, proud of my country” statement was a bad thing. I commend her for being able to finally say such a thing. I know that the United States has not always been a very inviting or forgiving place, but I’m glad that she finally can make such a statement. I was just commenting on the fact that everyone else made it out to be such a bad thing to say and practically jumped her for it, when in reality, I don’t think she meant it in a bad way at all.
On the topic of change, I still think that not everybody may want or be ready for change. I mean, just look at all the John McCain supporters. McCain is a Republican (which is the party of the white house currently), he is white, he is male, and he is experienced. While there may be a ton of Clinton and Obama supporters, there are still those who are looking for things to not change so drastically. As we both have mentioned, if the democrats take the white house, it won’t be long before Congress tries to reverse itself to balance it all out. But there are plenty of people happy with the way things are now. I’m not saying that nobody wants change, I’m just saying that some people like things the way there are now and it depends on how drastic the change for voters to stay interested.