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The media created some interesting graphics about the 2008 election.
The coolest is on the Washington Post's web site with 3-D graphics of the results by county.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/election/uscounties.html
The NYT times has several interactive maps. The 'voting shift' map is especially interesting.
http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html
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One of the things that struck me was that the victory margin in a number of Democratic states -states that have been nail biters - now approaches or exceeds the GOP margins in the South. For example, Wisconsin +14%, Iowa +9%, Colorado +9%, Minnesota +10%. Overall, Obama carried states with 258 electoral votes by 10% or more. The so-called 50 state strategy paid off.
The strategy never really included trying to win in all 50 states, but did go well beyond the 20 or so states that Kerry and Gore contested. One lesson from the extended primary season : it did the Democrats some good to campaign in places the national candidates usually never go, like Texas. If they never see a national Democrat, the chances that you will carry the state are slim.
With talk of 'the people' voting and 'mandates'etc. only 63% of the eligible voters turned out. Obama got circa 63% of that vote.
ReplyDeleteSo...Obama got less than 40% of the electorate.
In some countries over 50% , a real majority is required to govern.
We have the rule of powerful minorities, gathered by obscene amounts of money used to buy TV and manufacture consent.
How do you define democracy?
For right now, I choose to enjoy this historic victory and the possibility for a better future.
ReplyDeleteguilfoil-
ReplyDeletewhat do propose we do-
I agree w u, but the battle was lost abt 1896 or so by measuring stick.
Make it clear that we expect Obama and the Congress to deliver, at a minimum, in addition to direct and indirect help for regular people in the current crisis:
ReplyDelete1. universal health insurance
2. more progressive tax structure
3. pro-union legal reforms
4. action on climate change
(And other stuff - This is the bad thing about lists - the stuff you forget.....)
And he should be aggressive and move quickly on multiple fronts to get things done while the bloom is on the rose. This will also present the bad guys with too many simultaneous actions so they can't pick off one issue at a time.
Obama is the guy we have to work with right now.
1896 was an interesting election, but the rural populists could not work with the urban workers (most of whom were immigrants) and WJ Bryan was a lousy candidate in many ways.
"WJ Bryan was a lousy candidate in many ways."
ReplyDeleteThose are fighting words. In his younger days (1896) he was a great speaker and writer and that election was a watershed event in American politics-have you not read his book about that election?
Yes, it was rural interests against the bankers and industrial complex and they lost.
On another note, guilfoil seems to like to complain, but has few answers....I agree with him many times.
HP
"Yes, it was rural interests against the bankers and industrial complex and they lost."
ReplyDeleteYou misunderstood what I wrote. The farmers and the urban workers could not unite - partly due to nativist fears of immigrants - and the party was doomed to be a regional party only.