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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2004-11-19

Still Out Of Tune

David Yepsen, the star political reporter in Iowa, penned a piece today that started out looking like a post-mortem on the Kerry campaign. What it turned out to be, however was a cry out to keep the faith. To excerpt:

For openers, the situation for Democrats is not bleak. Another 125,000 votes in Ohio for Kerry and you wouldn't be reading this column. In losing, Kerry got more votes than many past candidates received in winning the presidency. He came within 3.5 million votes out of 115 million cast. (Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, "close" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.)

Also, a party that loses one presidential election often comes storming back in the next. For example, in 1964 Democrat Lyndon Johnson administered a crushing defeat to Barry Goldwater and the GOP. It was so bad that no politician wanted to be called a "conservative." Four years later, Richard Nixon won the presidency in a close election.


Point by point. . . Yes, another 125,000 in Ohio; BUT another 125,000 for the President in Pennsylvania and we're all talking about a landslide this week and we'd be reading columns about that. And 3.5 million votes is, you know, not chicken feed--that's a mid size red state right there.

And a losing party often comes storming back? Really? Trying to float that one past us as we're contemplating George W Bush's SECOND election? Sure, Johnson did crush Goldwater, but that was the last time until 1996 years that the Dems managed get re-elected, while the GOP managed it twice and got a sitting Veep elected.

Still, I hope more columnists keep the pressure on the Dems to keep doing what they've been doing--it certainly has worked out well for my side.
Posted by: Michael / 11/19/2004 01:34:00 AM

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