Thursday, January 03, 2008
Post-Iowa thoughts:Democrats: - Obama - Better than I expected. Unfortunately, this guy doesn't get to me at all and I have concerns about his chances in the general election. Looks like Oprah can move voters (alas, that's the world we live in: celebrity matters more than policies).
- Edwards - Would have liked to see him come in first. Hope he keeps in there.
- Clinton - If she were to drop out, something she won't ever do, that would "clear the air" and it would be fascinating to see Obama vs. Edwards, debating policy and politics. Clinton always struck me as an obstacle for Democrats - there mostly by virtue of her association with Bill (unlike, say Pelosi who worked for years to get where she is). But Hillary was a "name" as they say, and there are lots of minimal-information voters out there who she could hope for.
- Dodd - Sorry to see you go. Keep fighting for the rule of law.
- Biden - Gone too. Now he can go 24/7 attacking Republicans.
Republicans: - Huckabee - Even though he's pretty conservative, he doesn't get the love from the Club for Growth or Limbaugh. Why? In any event, Huckabee will be endless trouble for the Republicans, especially now that he's won Iowa.
- Romney - Probably the least bad Republican, but doomed by his religion. His Iowa showing demonstrates that money and organization gets you something, so Mitt could be with us for a long while.
- Thompson - Go Fred! If anyone asks you what you can accomplish by doing nothing, tell them, "Third place in Iowa".
- McCain - Apparently coming in fourth is a victory in the eyes of some pundits. They should be reminded that politics is a horse race and that there is no payout for fourth place.
- Paul - Ten percent of Iowa means ... ?
- Giuliani - Still warming up the engines, flight set to take off weeks from now. But by then, will there be anyone to step on board? Rudy's game plan seem to be to anticipate another tragedy somewhere in the world, so that people are reminded of 9/11 yet again.
posted by Quiddity at 1/03/2008 10:28:00 PM
2 comments
"Getting" a candidate is kind of like "getting" a joke, I suppose: it can't be explained. But I get Obama,and Obama gets to me.
I would say that Oprah probably didn't move that many votes--I was sold on Obama long before Oprah joined his campaign, but she may have added some people to his column. Since I like him, I'm ok with that.
However, if the definition of celebrity is "someone who is famous for being well known," then the real beneficiary of Celebrity in this caucus was Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is famous for being well known. If her name were anything other than Clinton--a well known and therefore celebritific name--she wouldn't have gotten the numbers she did.
I like all the main Democrats. I'd vote for any of them above any Republican likely to get the nomination. But I'm happy that Obama won. I'd be more concerned about Clinton's chances in the general than I am over Obama's.
Still, if Hillary or Edwards is the nominee, they will not just get my vote but my enthusiastic support. They are all the GoodGuys [tm].
I can't stop giggling over Huckabee's win. He's a neo-con's worst nightmare. Since I live in a red state I may well vote for Huckabee in our primary.
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