“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”Ben Smith at Politico proves Sir Winston right with an astonishing e-mail he got from his buddy, a GOP consultant who was watching some focus group participants explain why they are voting for Obama:
-- Winston S. Churchill
54 year-old white male, voted Kerry '04, Bush '00, Dole '96, hunter, NASCAR fan...hard for Obama said: "I'm gonna hate him the minute I vote for him. He's gonna be a bad president. But I won't ever vote for another god-damn Republican. I want the government to take over all of Wall Street and bankers and the car companies and Wal-Mart run this county like we used to when Reagan was President."Wha-a-a-a-a-a?
The next was a woman, late 50s, Democrat but strongly pro-life. Loved B. and H. Clinton, loved Bush in 2000. "Well, I don't know much about this terrorist group Barack used to be in with that Weather guy but I'm sick of paying for health insurance at work and that's why I'm supporting Barack."
To think. I’m the one who has to take flak for suggesting that some decisions be made outside of the democratic process. With people exercising their powers of reasoning, nuance, recall, and command of current events like those two, I can’t imagine what I was thinking. These folks can be trusted to make the best decision for all of us. I shouldn’t even bother voting myself.
Anyway, when you’ve got these kinds of sub-average Americans deciding that despite the fact that they know they don’t like and don’t trust Obama, already believe that he was and still is a terrorist, and will turn out to be a bad President, but nevertheless are voting for him because he’s better than any Republican, then that’s yet another sign that it’s time for the guy to take his horse home.
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4 comments:
couldn't this simply be a case of sour grapes? the gop consultant desperately wants the votes but he can't get them. so instead of blaming mccain and his campaign, he discredits the voters as idiots.
I've thought for a while that the voters had basically decided "no" to McCain. That preceded what's happening now, which is an emotional rather than a reasoned rush to Obama. People have started pulling for Obama. They want Obama to be the answer. This is not about policy, it's about hope for the future, and Obama has come to represent that, while McCain has ended up as the cranky old man, the spokesman for the past.
A lot of McCain's supporters have spent way too much time attacking Obama and failing to make the case for McCain. The right wing, as much as Obama's people, defined this as fear vs. hope. Americans are optimists.
FYI, the Ben Smith link is weird.
FIFY
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