Convicted Of Charisma
By Michael Kinsley
Washington Post
Saturday, August 23, 2008
"On Thursday, as the convention moves from the indoor Pepsi Center to Mile High, an open-air football stadium, Democrats will have to balance their desire to spotlight Obama's enthusiastic following with concern that images of a cheering throng will ratify Republican attacks on the candidate as a glitzy but untested celebrity." -- The Post, Aug. 14
It's not completely crazy for a political party to worry that a campaign event could be too successful. In Britain in 1992, the Labor Party was leading in all the polls until just a few days before the election, when it also staged a huge rally in a football stadium (different kind of football, of course). British voters punished Labor's leader, Neil Kinnock, for seeming complacent and overconfident and delivered an upset victory to Conservative Prime Minister John Major. The rally was regarded as "too American."
But nothing can be too American for American political parties at convention time. So the notion that "images of a cheering throng" could backfire on the Democrats is pretty remarkable. As a matter of logic, it's hard to see any connection at all between Obama's ability to attract a crowd and the question of whether he has been sufficiently "tested." And yet, it's true. Even though Ronald Reagan might have found it hard to believe that there was something wrong with cheering throngs, Republicans are making an issue of Obama's popularity, and the Democrats have to be careful not to overdo things.
With so much going their way in this election, the biggest challenge the Democrats face is simple: The Republicans just play the game of presidential politics so much better. They play it with genius, courage, creativity and utter ruthlessness.
(Continued here.)
Washington Post
Saturday, August 23, 2008
"On Thursday, as the convention moves from the indoor Pepsi Center to Mile High, an open-air football stadium, Democrats will have to balance their desire to spotlight Obama's enthusiastic following with concern that images of a cheering throng will ratify Republican attacks on the candidate as a glitzy but untested celebrity." -- The Post, Aug. 14
It's not completely crazy for a political party to worry that a campaign event could be too successful. In Britain in 1992, the Labor Party was leading in all the polls until just a few days before the election, when it also staged a huge rally in a football stadium (different kind of football, of course). British voters punished Labor's leader, Neil Kinnock, for seeming complacent and overconfident and delivered an upset victory to Conservative Prime Minister John Major. The rally was regarded as "too American."
But nothing can be too American for American political parties at convention time. So the notion that "images of a cheering throng" could backfire on the Democrats is pretty remarkable. As a matter of logic, it's hard to see any connection at all between Obama's ability to attract a crowd and the question of whether he has been sufficiently "tested." And yet, it's true. Even though Ronald Reagan might have found it hard to believe that there was something wrong with cheering throngs, Republicans are making an issue of Obama's popularity, and the Democrats have to be careful not to overdo things.
With so much going their way in this election, the biggest challenge the Democrats face is simple: The Republicans just play the game of presidential politics so much better. They play it with genius, courage, creativity and utter ruthlessness.
(Continued here.)
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