Saturday, February 09, 2008

Hello President Huckabee?

Super Tuesday seems to have settled things for the Republicans. Now that Mitt Romney has pulled out McCain is certain to get the Republican nomination. I expect McCain to tack right and it is being suggested that he will choose Huckabee as his vice-Presidential candidate. Here is the nightmare scenario: McCain chooses Huckabee as his running mate, the Republicans win in November, and McCain - 71 - pops his clogs. Hello President Huckabee. Another 100-carot fruitcake in the White House (he opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest; is apparently agnostic as to whether the earth is a mere 6000 years old or not; is an NRA gun-nut, etc, etc). If McCain chooses Huckabee the Democrats should adopt the following slogan: "McCain is 71. Huckabee is his running-mate. Vote (either Clinton or Obama)".
The Democratic contest is uncertain. Clinton still leads so far as the delegate count is concerned, but the Obama bandwagon rolls on, he continues to enjoy an easy ride from the media, and he is raising big wads of cash faster than Clinton. Obama has "the big Mo", and the upcoming primaries and caucuses (including Louisiana which votes today) favour him, since black voters are opting for Obama by, well, 90% in Georgia. I suspect we will have to wait for Pennsylvania in April, and it may even go as far as the Convention. Clinton will try to get Florida and Michigan re-instated; and both will vie for those super-delegates who have not declared yet. Just like the old days, except the rooms will be smoke-free.
I don't know exactly what it is I don't like about Obama. I suspect it is a generational thing. I don't like "celebrity culture" and I'm not keen on "celebrity politicians". I prefer the Attlee-type: no charisma at all. I can't stand the endless chanting of "Yes, we can", rather like a football crowd. And the idea that "he is the change", well, sorry, that ain't good enough. I don't like the way he runs as the black candidate when it suits him (playing the Martin Luther King card against Clinton, who was absurdly accused of denigrating King by the Obama people) and as the "candidate of no colour" when that suits him. I don't like the way he plays dirty against Clinton ("Vote Different", "on the board of Walmart", "can't run the White House if you can't run your own house", the MLK card, etc) without this causing any adverse comment, while the Clintons are constantly being attacked for negative campaigning (Bill Clinton has been virtually accused of being a racist for pointing out that in the past Jesse Jackson won the South Carolina primary. Given that Obama took over 80% of the black vote in that state it doesn't seem an unreasonable observation to me).
One underlying theme of this is how segmented the USA is: Democrats in Georgia opt for Obama, but Republicans in Georgia opt for Huckabee; blacks go for Obama, women and Latinos for Clinton; the young for Obama, older folk for Clinton; blue-collar white Democrats for Clinton; white college-educated and well-to-do Democrats for Obama. Another interesting thing is that the opinion polls seem to be wonky; not just in New Hampshire, but in California too (both states were won by Clinton, although opinion polls had Obama ahead). Clinton didn't cry in California. Is this "the Bradley effect"?
Predictions: I think Clinton will win the Democratic nomination, and especially if Huckabee is McCain's running-mate I think she will win in November. But whether it is Clinton or Obama, if Huckabee is on the Republican ticket, I hope to God the Democrats win.

2 Comments:

Blogger John Evo said...

Huckabee is evil and this blogger has proven it pretty conclusively.

11:49 pm  
Blogger Politaholic said...

Spooky! Interesting blog, I shall link to it.
Then again the values of the letters for "fuck" and "me" are 38 and 18 and multiplied this is 684. And if 18 is taken away from 684 that is 666. Coincidence? I don't think so.

10:47 am  

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