There’s been a lot of talk during the campaign of this midterm election about how Democrats don’t want to be seen with the president. It’s entirely true. Alison Grimes, the Democratic senate candidate in Kentucky, won’t even admit she voted for Obama. I don’t know which is more ridiculous, her not admitting it or that the question is even being asked. If Grimes was old enough to run for the Senate in 1994 she wouldn’t have admitted voting for Clinton, but today she calls herself a “Clinton Democrat”. I predict in the near future a lot of Democrats will be calling themselves “Obama Democrats.” Maybe Alison can admit voting for Obama but while doing so she didn’t inhale.
The Democrats lost seats during Obama’s first midterm election and they’re going to lose more this time around during his lame duck session. The race for Democrats now isn’t to prevent losses, it’s to prevent losing the Senate. If the Democrats keep the Senate, despite suffering losses, they’ll declare victory.
This isn’t really that much of a statement on Obama. Every president since WWII lost seats. Reagan lost 8 Senate seats despite that huge god-like pedestal the GOP has him on. He also lost 31 House seats. So much for that Reagan Revolution.
Most of us, unless you’re really young, remember the ’94 blowout where Newt Gingrich and his contract with America took 8 Senate and 52 House seats from Clinton though by his lame duck midterm he picked up House seats and didn’t lose one from the Senate. George W. Bush, who was never really elected in 2000, lost 30 in the House and 6 in the Senate during his lame duck midterm. FDR lost 71 House seats in his first midterm. Are you getting the idea?
The art is not losing too many. A president gives the opposing party a pretty big target for the opposing party to hit. It’s harder for the president’s party to find a bad guy figure head, unless you luck out like Clinton and fate gives you Newt Gingrich. It’s kind of amazing Obama has managed to hang on to the Senate and he still might after this election.
I think Michelle’s turnip commercial is funny. Nobody likes turnips. I can’t remember the last time I ate a turnip but I guarantee I didn’t finish it and I bit into it by accident. What can be less popular than a turnip….I mean other than President Obama?
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