Right-shift, or GOP hubris?
Fred Barnes writes in Opinion Journal] about how the results of last November's elections herald bright prospects for the GOP in the future.
I'm not so sure.
While I liked the results, I think Republicans are kidding themselves if they believe those results herald the beginning of a large or long-term conservative shift in the electorate.
While a 3-point margin in the popular vote is nice, it doesn't alter the fact that a shift of just 70,000 votes in Ohio would have given Dems the White House.
With all respect to Mr. Bush, the Democratic nominee was one of the poorest candidates in several decades--a military record full of holes; meeting with representatives of North VietNam while we were still fighting; anti-U.S.-military testimony after VietNam; an abrasive, foreign-born billionaire wife; and an amazing penchant for shooting himself in the foot in flip-flopping on issues. If I were a GOP strategist I'd be worried that my party didn't win by more than 20-percent of the popular vote!
I'm not so sure.
While I liked the results, I think Republicans are kidding themselves if they believe those results herald the beginning of a large or long-term conservative shift in the electorate.
While a 3-point margin in the popular vote is nice, it doesn't alter the fact that a shift of just 70,000 votes in Ohio would have given Dems the White House.
With all respect to Mr. Bush, the Democratic nominee was one of the poorest candidates in several decades--a military record full of holes; meeting with representatives of North VietNam while we were still fighting; anti-U.S.-military testimony after VietNam; an abrasive, foreign-born billionaire wife; and an amazing penchant for shooting himself in the foot in flip-flopping on issues. If I were a GOP strategist I'd be worried that my party didn't win by more than 20-percent of the popular vote!
posted by SF at
1:27 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home