A week ago, Obama was leading McCain in RealClearPolitics.com’s “No Toss Up States” Electoral College Count 322 to 216. Today, after the release of many new polls over the last week, McCain is now in the lead, 274 to 264. This is not a good sign.
Last weekend at Saddleback, the great young orator Obama was thoroughly outspoken by the older straight-talking underdog. Like Muhammad Ali showing ring rust in the “Fight of the Century” with Joe Frazier, the once seemingly invincible Obama seems to have suffered his first solid professional career loss. This is not a good sign.
Then there is Obama's most serious problem: his own backyard. Polls show that upwards of 25% of HRC supporters haven’t coalesced around the nominee like all the Democratic strategists hoped they would. The convention next week has every possibility of turning the media’s attention back to the Clinton-Obama smackdown and damaging Obama’s image even further. Some are beginning to wonder how Obama can continue to cast himself as a unifier when he can’t even unify his own party. These are not good signs.
For Obama supporters such as myself, now seems to be the time to panic. However, Obama and his peeps aren’t panicking. Obama and his peeps have faith.
Why? Where does this faith come from? Is it blind? Do they believe they can just keep doing what they’re doing and they’ll ultimately prevail? Do they really have so much confidence in a strategy that thus far hasn’t gained Obama any support in the national polls since June?
Or do they have a game-changing ace up their sleeve? Not an ace in the hole, but perhaps an ace in a pantsuit?
Just last week I would have thought it to be impossible and unnecessary, but now it truly appears that it would be a massive mistake for Obama to pick anyone other than Hillary Clinton as his running mate.
JFK had to bite the bullet with LBJ and BHO should do the same with HRC. The warning signs were there in the primaries that a certain segment of the population just prefers Hillary to Barack and those signs are still apparent today. Since the two split the vote, isn’t splitting the ticket the smart thing to do instead of just telling 18 million Democratic voters “you’re gal lost but you have to vote with us anyway because you’re Democrats” and having faith they are going to listen, especially when all the signs are there hinting that they’re not going to?
Obama should heed the signs instead of just going off faith that things will work themselves out without any major action on his part. Otherwise, he could very well end up like the man who lived by the river.
*** *** *** *** ***
Aaron Sorkin once said “Good writers borrow from other writers. Great writers steal from them outright.” He should know, since he stole that quote from Mark Twain. In that spirit…
From West Wing Season 1, Episode 14:
"You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, 'I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.'
The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, 'Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.' But the man shouted back, 'I'm religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.'
A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, 'Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I'll take you to safety.' But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety.
Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. 'Lord,' he said, 'I'm a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?
God said, 'I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?'"
Obama’s been sent slipping polls numbers, a surprisingly strong opponent, a divided party and a convention that could be a media disaster. God is the voters, and if Barack doesn’t take advantage of the signs the voters send his way (i.e. a large group of an important demographic demanding the presence of Hillary) then he truly is operating off of blind faith. If he takes action and picks HRC, he can keep his head above water. However, if he goes off of faith that he’ll be able to weather the storm without any assistance from the person who got more than 49% of the primary vote, I fear us Obama supporters may all be standing around on November 4th in the loser’s circle asking each other “What the hell are we doing here?”
Posts
