Political Wisdom: Republicans' Really, Really Bad News
WSJ.COM In Political Perceptions
Here's a summary of the smartest new political analysis on the Web:
by Gerald F. Seib
Associated Press
The win for Democrat Travis Childers (left) in Mississippi spells trouble for Republicans.
The really, really bad news for Republicans is found in Mississippi, writes National Journal's Amy Walter. It comes in the form of Democratic Rep.-elect Travis Childers, who "defeated Republican Greg Davis in a heavily Republican district" on Tuesday. Davis, Walter writes, did everything that any traditional Republican candidate would do. He and his GOP allies tied Childers to higher taxes. They talked about House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi. They even threw in Barack Obama and Jeremiah Wright. In any 'normal' year, this would have been enough to win. But, it's quite obvious that this isn't a normal year. And, given that House Republicans have to defend 18 open seats in districts that are decidedly more marginal than this one, it's hard to see how they can keep their losses this November under double digits. A 20-seat Democratic gain still looks hard to reach, but 10 to 12 seems like a moderate prediction at this point."
Newsweek's Howard Fineman asks the question about Obama's candidacy that seems to be on, or in the back of, everybody's mind: "Is Obama's campaign erasing racial consciousness, or raising it?" He writes that the race equation changed in the South Carolina primary, which was "a racially polarized result that has continued to this day. After that, "Obama's campaign began crying foul over real or imagined racial slights. It worked in many ways, increasing black voter solidarity and goading Bill Clinton into serial fits of purple rage." Ultimately, Fineman concludes, "The Obama campaign may be right: that raising the profile of this issue is the way to finally defeat it … We'll see. In this campaign, the new argument over race and personhood hasn't ended. It's just begun."
For her part, though, Sen. Hillary Clinton, in a new ABC News interview, "dismissed exit poll results that suggest some of her supporters are voting against (Obama) because he's black," writes the network's Jennifer Parker. Clinton argued in the interview that in West Virginia's primary, "an overwhelming majority chose between us based on who can be better on the economy and health care and college affordability." She also contended, Parker writes, "that just as many people may be discriminating against her because she is a woman."
The New York Times' Gail Collins finally produces the plan for Clinton to still win the nomination:
"1) A big, big win in Kentucky next Tuesday. Ideally, Obama should be limited to no more than 100 votes.
2) Oregon, scheduled for the same day, inexplicably breaks off and sinks into the Pacific Ocean.
3) Puerto Rico, clocking in on June 1, not only gives Clinton a huge majority, but also manages to become a state in advance of the vote.
4) Finally, on June 3 as the South Dakota polls open, Thomas Jefferson's head on Mount Rushmore comes to life and starts shouting, 'You go, girl.'" |
