Everyone on the left-hand side of the political blogosphere is crowing these days. They have a lot to crow about too: the election of President Obama, his inauguration, the strong control of both houses of Congress, the ramrodding passage of the stimulus bill through to the President’s signature.
They don’t have quite as much to be shouting about as they claim though. They all believe that they have a basic realignment of the American electorate with their victory last September. They continue to shout based on President Obama’s job approval ratings in the polls. That, along with the President’s insistence that “he won”, seem (to them) to be a strong reason as to why anyone opposed to them should have the common courtesy to shut up, if not simply discorporate out of shame.
It really isn’t that simple though. 
Check the chart. It shows President George W. Bush’s approval ratings through his terms in office. At roughly the same time in his tenure, W., too, had a high approval rating. Look where it got him!
Job approval ratings this far from an election really don’t have much to do with the chances in the next election – unless the situation doesn’t change at all. The one thing we can be sure of in all of this – it will change.
I’m not really watching the Vice Presidential debate. I figure I’ll listen to it tomorrow on XM Radio’s POTUS08 channel, where they’ll play it more than once through the day.
I have to admit though, I want to watch it. I’m sure most people with even the slightest interest in the political scene want to watch it. Of course, none of us want to watch it because we think its going to change our minds – even those of us who are mainly leaning undecided/none-of-the-above.
More importantly, we’re watching for the same reason, allegedly, that many people watch auto racing: on the off-chance that there will be a big wreck.
Another very sad commentary on our political culture in this day and age, that we want to watch this kind of spectacle in order that we might watch the zinger, the sharp barb, or the deer-in-headlights moment.
Why do I continually see myself surprised when the political parties, and their partisans, continue to act as hypocrites? Both parties have, or will, nominate someone who seems manifestly unqualified for the office of which they seek election. The Democrats have nominated Senator Obama, who is an incredible orator, does not really have the resume of a Leader of the Free World ™. The GOP, on the other hand, nominates Governor Palin, after complaining (as did Senator and former President Clintons) that Obama is unqualified.
Then, the whole issue of Palin’s daughter. Yes, if it were Obama’s daughter who was unwed and pregnant, the GOP attack machine would be in full force, blaming the parents. The Democrats, though, claim to be better than that. Obama, to his credit, says that it should be a private matter. Unfortunately, we’re still getting Dems who, smarting from undocumented claims of Obama being a Muslim, say there’s no proof that Palin didn’t hide her daughter’s earlier pregnancy by claiming the child as her own.
Of course, we get the government, and politics, we deserve. In shovelfuls.
March 3, 2009 10:05 pm | 