Posted by
Andrews on Thursday, June 05, 2008 5:44:08 PM
It is informative sometimes to see what the rank and file are thinking. From Townhall I have a pretty good grasp on those supporting McCain. Many are simply supporting him because the alternatives are so much more frightening. Some, including your author, are supporting him because, wrong a she is on many issues, he is right on defense, which is the most pressing issue of the day. (And in my case, because I think he is still open to pressure to move right on other issues.) Some support him because they think his personal history show him to be an honorable man. Some support him because they agree with most or all of his beliefs. Some, leaning more to the left, support him because his maverick persona make them think he will have a more progressive approach than most Republicans. And then there are some Democrats, perhaps a considerable number who are crossing party lines either because their candidate lost, or because they have more in common with McCain than Obama.
Nor is it that hard to see what Democrats who support Hillary Clinton find in her. She is promoting the old Clinton line, a mix of left and center, with the implicit promise that she will move left as soon as the campaign is over. It is pretty much the same thing her husband promised, and the same set of promises which accompanied the last winning Democratic presidential campaign. It may be hard to see how Democrats can overcome the personal distaste so many feel for Clinton, but that they support Clinton makes sense. They are liberals, she is promising a center-liberal platform, it make sense.
What I can't fathom is the rabid support Obama receives. I have made
attempt after
attempt to figure this out, but it still seems incredible that the man could have built up such an
enthusiastic following while campaigning on
essentially no platform. He may be a traditional die hard liberal in practice, but his campaign has eschewed any reference to his record. And now, though he has been forced to adopt positions, he has still avoided being cast as a
traditional liberal. Well, he has adopted some liberal positions, such as his
boundless faith in negotiations, but he quickly
stepped back from his liberal stance, or, in some cases, adopted
more than one position.
Well, I have finally
found an honest look into one of those rank and file Obamaniacs.
And what strikes me most is that not one thing that appeals to her has anything to do with actually being president. Her description sounds, appropriately enough, like a teenager describing her dream boyfriend, or a precocious elementary school writing about why her dad is so great, rather than a grad student writing about politics.
And I think that may be the real secret of Obama, why his platform doesn't matter, why it would even hinder him, why he can even drop his drumbeat of "change" and "hope" and still keep going.
Obama isn't campaigning; he isn't asking for votes; to his supporters, he's dating them.