Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Super Tuesday --
(My site in Italian)
Well today is the day that John Edwards gets blown out of the water by Kerry, thereby ending the impossible dream of Edwards/Clark that I predicted about a month ago.
I was wrong, way off in fact -- but I have an out -- I blame the front-loaded primary calendar. Too many primaries too soon too close together for Edwards to get any fund-raising going. Kerry could run ads in every state, travels to every state -- Edwards just can't do that.
Edwards had to rely on free media. And Edwards got screwed there too: Kucinich and Sharpton diluted any effect the debates might have had, as did the piss-poor debate format. Four candidates (two real candidates and two idiots) at a desk? That's not a debate, that's Meet The Press. Separate podiums ... on a stage -- that's a debate.
I might be crazy, but the Janet Jackson nonsense didn't help either -- it ate an entire week's worth of discussion. May sound dumb, but Edwards needed to keep the noise in the media going, and that diversion shut down talk of the campaign for a while, as did gay marriage.
Bush is a smart guy. Check that, Bush's team is smart. They played the gay card, and guess what, talk about the war and the economy (not exactly two feathers in Bushie Boy's cap) has suffered. They've taken the air out of two very real, very important issues that affect everybody and supplanted them with an objectively not as important, but ideologically nuclear issue -- 2004's version of the flag burning amendment. This will help Bush among conservatives who have serious reservations over the deficit by hitting them in the one place more vulnerable than the wallet -- their inherent righteousness and sense of moral outrage.
State-wise, this was a good move if Bush wants to win Ohio, a state that has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs but is also extremely socially conservative. Ohio is one of the few states that will be seriously in play and whoever wants to be President needs it. Michigan also falls into this category.
Whatever, what the hell do I know. I voted for Bush in 2000. But if he wins again I'm moving to Canada ... I'm gonna room with Alec Baldwin.
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(My site in Italian)
Well today is the day that John Edwards gets blown out of the water by Kerry, thereby ending the impossible dream of Edwards/Clark that I predicted about a month ago.
I was wrong, way off in fact -- but I have an out -- I blame the front-loaded primary calendar. Too many primaries too soon too close together for Edwards to get any fund-raising going. Kerry could run ads in every state, travels to every state -- Edwards just can't do that.
Edwards had to rely on free media. And Edwards got screwed there too: Kucinich and Sharpton diluted any effect the debates might have had, as did the piss-poor debate format. Four candidates (two real candidates and two idiots) at a desk? That's not a debate, that's Meet The Press. Separate podiums ... on a stage -- that's a debate.
I might be crazy, but the Janet Jackson nonsense didn't help either -- it ate an entire week's worth of discussion. May sound dumb, but Edwards needed to keep the noise in the media going, and that diversion shut down talk of the campaign for a while, as did gay marriage.
Bush is a smart guy. Check that, Bush's team is smart. They played the gay card, and guess what, talk about the war and the economy (not exactly two feathers in Bushie Boy's cap) has suffered. They've taken the air out of two very real, very important issues that affect everybody and supplanted them with an objectively not as important, but ideologically nuclear issue -- 2004's version of the flag burning amendment. This will help Bush among conservatives who have serious reservations over the deficit by hitting them in the one place more vulnerable than the wallet -- their inherent righteousness and sense of moral outrage.
State-wise, this was a good move if Bush wants to win Ohio, a state that has lost thousands of manufacturing jobs but is also extremely socially conservative. Ohio is one of the few states that will be seriously in play and whoever wants to be President needs it. Michigan also falls into this category.
Whatever, what the hell do I know. I voted for Bush in 2000. But if he wins again I'm moving to Canada ... I'm gonna room with Alec Baldwin.
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