What bars someone from holding high political office? Just when we think we know the rules, they change.
It is a great question. Let's review some past elections.
In 1984, it was Reagan that wouldn't raise taxes and Mondale would (never mind that Mondale said that Reagan would raise taxes, he just wouldn't be honest about it during the campaign; and sure enough, so it came to be, only he called it "user fees" and smiled when he did it, so it was OK).
In 1988, it was lack of passion--Remember Dukakis' answer to the question about his wife being raped? If he didn't want the rapist murdered, he wasn't fit to be president.
In 1992, it was Clinton's womanizing vs. Bush's not keeping his word about not raising taxes. And of course Perot was plausibly the deciding factor.
In 1996--well, that was kind of a foregone conclusion, forget that one. It was a pretty forgettable election.
In 2000, it was, "who would rather have a beer with, Gore the Bore or Bush the Rancher" (never mind that he had just bought that ranch a few years earlier with exactly this in mind and sold it pretty much as soon as he left office and never mind that Bush at that point was a teetolling recovering alcoholic; when the Republican Mad Ave Machine wants the press to pay attention to certain details and ignore others, So It Must Be).
In 2004, it was FlipFlopping and Kerry's alleged cowardice in Vietnam. Never mind that the courageous Bush never went to Vietnam.
In 2008 and 2012, of course it was the fact that Obama was a black man from Kenya (oy... never mind any of that). |
