The Convention is a Failure
Bill Clinton running around telling people to vote for McCain (essentially). The media covering nothing but the Clinton/Obama feud. Polls dropping. McCain slamming Obama on foreign policy. Hordes of Republican strategists and talking heads speaking with one voice, whinging Democrats bickering amongst themselves. And to top it off, Democratic speakers talking about watching the Brady Bunch and bipartisanship instead of slamming McCain and Bush at every opportunity.
We will look back at this week and see it as the beginning of the end. Obama is not going to get a bump. Any bump he gets will be immediately wiped out by a bump for McCain. Hate to say it, but there are enough people who are willing to take a pass on Obama and wait out four years to elect another Democrat. What they'll do when Hillary loses another primary, I have no idea, but that's where we're headed. Personally, I blame William Jefferson Douchebag and his wife, but then again, that's just what the PUMAs want to hear.
We will look back at this week and see it as the beginning of the end. Obama is not going to get a bump. Any bump he gets will be immediately wiped out by a bump for McCain. Hate to say it, but there are enough people who are willing to take a pass on Obama and wait out four years to elect another Democrat. What they'll do when Hillary loses another primary, I have no idea, but that's where we're headed. Personally, I blame William Jefferson Douchebag and his wife, but then again, that's just what the PUMAs want to hear.
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"Hate to say it, but there are enough people who are willing to take a pass on Obama and wait out four years to elect another Democrat."
Seriously, with McTriggerhappy at the helm, there may not be an America here in 4 years.
Are we willing to take THAT risk?
August 26, 2008 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not, but the fact is, there are many who are willing to push on this bet.
August 26, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're watching too much TV punidtry; and even worse, you're believing what you're hearing.
August 26, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Amen
August 26, 2008 5:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Couldn't of said it better myself. After our victory come the 4th he will be screaming how he believed in Obama the entire time. Puhhleze.
August 26, 2008 5:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, I'm watching CSPAN. But your point is valid - the people who are actually paying attention are going to watching TV punditry, are they not? And what they get is absolutely polluted coverage. It's not going well so far, you have to admit.
August 26, 2008 5:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
but we never had a doubt they would put their collective thumb on the scale in favor of McCain...
We just have to overcome that tag-team: the Republicans and their pet MSM.
August 26, 2008 5:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
The people who are actually paying attention will recognize polluted coverage for exactly what it is, just as you do. Perhaps we should give more people the benefit of having good sense and worry less about those few who don't.
August 26, 2008 5:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Look, by far most voters are not so engaged in this as you apparently are and are not listening to the pundits.
Most folks, I am guessing, who vote in Nov. will cast their vote based upon economic considerations, as voters normally do, not on what talking hairdos say.
August 26, 2008 5:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think you're mistaken. Something like 70% of Americans said they'd watch the convention in prime time, and around 1 in 5 said they'd watch gavel to gavel.
Plenty of people are listening, and a wide swathe of them are gullible.
I still think the talking points will change come October and Obama will win in a landslide, but this has been a rough couple of months indeed.
August 26, 2008 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
70% of Americans are not watching the convention. That is utterly ridiculous. That would be over 250 million people or about 80 million households. Come on. I know you didn't really mean 70% of all Americans, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you meant those of voting age.
The most households to have ever watched a convention was 22 million who watched the 1976 nomination of Ford, if one believes WP reporter Lisa de Moraes.
In 2004 15.5 million households watched the Dem convention. Even if every member of those households were watching, which they certainly were not, that would be 40 million folks who watched the convention. Which would be 17% of those, as of 2006, of voting age. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say 20% of the 2004 voting age population.
So you 70% number is absolute, unadulterated nonsense.
August 26, 2008 6:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're right. I believe it was 70% of voting age Americans "said" they were going to watch it. Polls are different than actual ratings, right? Learn to read instead of getting pompous with your slide rule.
August 26, 2008 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Learn to do a bit of research so that you can post facts, rather than fantasy.
August 26, 2008 7:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
See below. PEW Research good enough for you?
August 26, 2008 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
No responses to polling is not good enough for me because there are actually folks who aren't truthful to pollsters. Imagine that.
August 26, 2008 7:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
And here's a link where I got my general statistics, with the quotes "An overwhelming majority of Democrats (79%) say they are interested in following the convention." and "Fully 59% of Americans say they are interested in following what happens at the Democratic convention"
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/931/news-interest-democratic-convention
My initial response was to the person who said "Look, by far most voters are not so engaged in this as you apparently are and are not listening to the pundits."
Will anyone on here ever, Ever, EVER read things in their proper context? All we see on here anymore is people nitpicking.
"Snarf snarf! Yer numbers are not correct! Snarf snarf!"
Does everyone have to be a frickin CPA and be 100% accurate to the last decimal point in order to safely post and get their point across? Come on people, show some intellectual integrity.
August 26, 2008 6:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not at all. But I think those who enter their thoughts into the public discourse have a responsibility to be factual. You attempted to correct my correct assumption with nonsense.
When one puts his or her thoughts into the public discourse one must expect a response. And when read what to me seems to be utter nonsense I look into the matter.
August 26, 2008 7:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, but you countered my general statement that 70% of people "said" they'd watch with hard ratings numbers. That's not quite comparing apples-to-oranges but it's at least comparing apples-to-pears.
August 26, 2008 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's comparing facts to nonsense.
August 26, 2008 7:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's a PEW Research Poll! What is "nonsense" about that? I was countering the fact that you said people were not engaged, period. Your initial assumption was based on your opinion, and I was correcting your assumption. You were wrong.
August 26, 2008 7:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
And you did say "So you 70% number is absolute, unadulterated nonsense."
Actually, it isn't nonsense within the context now is it?
August 26, 2008 7:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
79% of democrats is not all the same as 70% of Americans, now is it?
August 26, 2008 7:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
See, there you go with the statistics lawyering. I reposted after that to give you the source and clarify.
You're still calling it nonsense.
Reset yourself and get back to the original point. People are engaged. You said they weren't.
August 26, 2008 7:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
BTW, I really envy you. Wish I could sell it all and move to Mexico. I mean that sincerely. Mexico has some wonderful places to retire.
August 26, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm probably older than you. You'll probably one day be able to sell it all and expatriate.
August 26, 2008 7:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Dear diarist, you piece of doo-doo: Please refrain from making stuff up. Bill Clinton is not telling anyone to vote for McCain. Stop pulling "facts" out of your bodily orifices. You are not helping TPM by behaving like a total clueless moron.
August 26, 2008 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think this is all being ridiculously hyped up to a place that doesn't even resemble the reality. Hillary is going to knock it out of the park tonight. And you best believe Bill Clinton will get up there and do his damnest for the party he loves so much. Then they'll all shut up.
August 26, 2008 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think you're exactly right.
This whole Obama/Clinton camps feud has been concocted by the vacuous talking hairdos of the echo chamber media; and, unfortunately a number of TPM posters have bought into it.
August 26, 2008 6:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I feel as though you just watched someone's weather report and got said about their predictions... cheer up, I thin your weatherman is a doomsayer and if you've got any gumption or fight in you... you might feel better if you get out and 'do somehing' to prevent the possiblity of that prediction becoming true. You could miss a sunny day just because a 'chance or rain' was announced...
August 26, 2008 6:23 PM | Reply | Permalink