Barack Obama & John McCain... 2008?
I still get emotional every time I watch President Josiah Bartlett announce Matthew Vicente Santos and Leo Thomas McGarry as the Democratic ticket on "The West Wing." During a majority of the Bush years, Aaron Sorkin’s creation gave progressive Americans an outlet once-a-week to feel like there was an administration that cared for them.
As the 2008 Election continues to play out, I can’t help but notice how very similar to the popular NBC show it is all becoming. Here are just a few of the parallels:
Republicans: The Republicans nominate Arnold Vinick (John McCain), the socially moderate Republican, over the Reverend Bob Baker (Mike Huckabee). Vinick feels pressure to select the Reverend as his VP to pacify the religious right. He even says, “I have to reach out to the pro-life Republican base, we have to give them some reason to come out to the polls.” Vinick eventually chooses a different Southern conservative to appease the Dobson’s of the world, time will tell if McCain does the same.
Democrats: On the Democratic side, it is a little different because Matt Santos is going up against an imbecilic VP who no one likes. In reality, we are very lucky to have two candidates who are very well-liked. The similar part comes with the brokered convention that the Democrats have on the show and that they will probably have in real life.
Brokered Convention: A lot has been made in the last few days about the Republicans having things settled while the Democrats continue to fight it out. On the show, Kristin Chenoweth had the perfect response:
Greg Brock, The (fictional) New York Times: “Would the White House care to comment on the expected contrast between the high degree of organization and discipline in the Republican Convention and the Democrats anticipated free-for-all?
Annabell Schott, Press Secretary: “I believe the American people will be the beneficiaries in that they will be presented with a clear choice: Do they want to be governed by people who are animated or animatronic?”
Lastly, there are a lot of people who are wanting Senator Obama to pull a Romney and step aside for party unity, with the presumption that he will be next in line. When Matt Santos was facing a similar situation, he gave a speech that has been etched into the minds of fans as something we thought could only happen on television… until we met Barack Obama.
I give you one of the best television moments in history:
1 comment:
Ok Adam here I go.
Hillary has inspired me for over 10 years, she's strong, passionate, willing, able and exteremely intelligent. Regardless to whether I like Obama or not, is not so much the point. Words can inspire me all I want, but I want action. She will roll up her sleeves on day one, no holds barred and get her hands in the muck that special interests are. She knows how they work, she knows how Washington works. You can't change the problem if you don't know how the problem works.
What is interesting is CNN had a poll where both Clinton and Obama beat McCain, with a larger margin for Obama. While Karl Rove had a poll where McCain beat both, Obama by a larger margin, losing. We can pontificate and rationalize who is the best to beat McCain, and both be right.
A lot of moderates out there see McCain as stable, level, fair and strong. They see Obama as not seasoned enough, too naive on foreign policy, and that words alone cannot amount to running a whole country. Hillary is perceived as strong, action motivated, and pragmatic. I can't even tell you how many people I talked to that will not vote for Obama if he gets the nomination, I've had to talk them out of it. Ultimately, it comes down to Democrat versus Republican and which party will bring this nation back from the dead. I think they both have a good shot at beating McCain, she has a little better. Remember, independents are hard to figure out, and with a moderate like McCain, who will have a huge advantage in time to steer people away from the Democrats, will probably get a huge chunk of them.
Also, she's getting the old people, he's getting the young...intersting to note, young people don't vote in nearly the large margins that old people do.
We need change true, Obama is change true, but Hillary is active change, active policy, works across the aisle and works with her vehemenant opposition. By all means, Obama has a right to run, and a really good chance of getting the nomination, but he has a battle ahead of him, a huge huuuuuge battle. Democrats lost their edge with Congress' approval rating sagging to less than 30%. I don't know who has the best chance, but neither one should feel more smug than the other.
One other thing is, just because Obama got the so called 'red states' doesn't mean he can get them in the general. Idaho, Nebraska, Alabama and Alaska will not go to a Democrat, not Obama, not any Democrat.
I also wanted to add, have you heard the rumors spreading that Obama's pastor is great friends with Farakan, and is known to spout off anti-Israeli sentiments, his pastor. Now, I believe exactly 0% of this rumor, but a lot of jews do. I know jews won't change the election, but in the face of a Hawk like McCain and his view on Iran and a Dove like Obama, the jews will choose McCain.
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