Today the Democrats are duking it out in Wisconsin…the Republicans are too, but since their race is basically decided, and therefore becoming stale, I’ll turn my attention to the one that has also captured the attention of the media. You have to wonder, though, would the media still be this interested in the race if it were between a black Republican man, and a white Republican woman, while on the Democratic side their so-so candidate busied himself preparing for general election and trying to brush off the last hangers-on? I would like to think they would…but it is hard to say. The media already has such a strong attraction to the Democratic party, that the fact that they have the more interesting candidates in this race is only helping drive the free publicity their way.
This brings up another interesting thought. If either Hillary or Obama does end up prevailing in the primaries, will half of the attention that had been focused on the cutthroat Democratic contest be given to the GOP, or will it merely be transferred to the loser, how they’re taking the loss, and what injustices they feel they’ve suffered? I tend to think it will be the latter. Although, if Hillary does triumph, I can see Obama taking the loss fairly well. He’s young, so he will simply bide his time, hang on to his donor list, and try again in four to eight years. Hillary on the other will most likely cry “foul!” and continue crying about it for as long as anyone will listen. If she doesn’t make it this time, I believe the chance of her ever having as legitimate a shot at the presidency as this time is slim, and she knows it. Her unapproval ratings are just too high, and it would be even more difficult to overcome all the Clinton weariness/hate, that she is already facing in this campaign. Plus, if she were to ever try again to hearken back to the “wonderful” Clinton years in a future election it would seem more and more of a moot point. Many voters would have difficulty either remembering them, or feeling that that is still a relevant case in light of how the world has changed (if you could call that a legitimate case to begin with). In order to make herself viable, she would have to work great wonders in the Senate, which I personally don’t think she has the ability to do. While she can appeal to hard-core Dems, she is much to devisive and taunting of the GOP to ever be able to get any sort of partisian deal made. The failure to do that, would give her less and less appeal all the time in a general election. In spite of the fact that everyone prefers their own party to win, and their extreme causes championed, most people would likewise prefer them to be the type that the other party can at least swallow, however begrudgingly.
So, how do I hope the races go today? I’m wondering if all this focus on the Dems could actually be helpful for the GOP in the fall. As long as this race stays close, tempers and passions will stay high, making it hard for either candidates’ supporters to finally accept the nominee. Some of the bitter, old die-hards may actually refuse to vote because of the ill done to their favorite, while middle-of-the-roaders may become bored with the rhetoric the media trumpeted to them all summer and take a renewed interest in what the GOP is saying (which is a bit iffy–we’ll have to see how adept McCain will be at holding the Bush administration at length in order to keep his mainstream appeal, while still figuring out a way to attract the moral and social conservatives). The feelings of both their supporters run deep. It seems like the worst name a Democratic candidate can be called is a Republican (Hillary gets it more often then Obama…that’s a laugh!), and both of their supporters believe that if the other were elected it would be a continuation of the Bush administration (also quite humorous). Since I sense the GOP will have a tough enough time on its own in the general, I’m hoping this Democratic fight will go on as long as possible–if only for entertainment purposes.