I’ve got a new post up at Pajamas Media, this morning, encompassing Obama, the Herd Mentality, and offering some serious reccomendations to Republicans for the future:
Ronald Reagan, for all that he was and did for this country, could not possibly have gotten himself elected to the presidency were it not for the towering failure of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. The facts certainly were on Reagan’s side. That point was not lost on the Republican base, which, as the candidacy of John McCain showed us, is always checking a candidate’s adherence to Republican principles. But certainly principles do not matter to those with a herd mentality. What drove the center and even most of the left away from Jimmy Carter three years into his presidency was disappointment and resentment. In short, emotion. Those two factors — leftist disappointment and a satisfied right-wing base — are what resulted in Reagan’s landslide victory.
So, with that history in mind, here’s what our future looks like.
The left may have already started turning against Obama. Support for his stimulus bill was recently down to 37% (it has since rebounded a bit). Obama’s approval ratings are already slipping from their post-election high. So we see that the chain of events which led to the removal of Jimmy Carter after one term may already be in motion with Barack Obama. An article in the pragmatic Financial Times asks the question: “Has Barack Obama’s presidency already failed?”
With these factors already in play, the GOP has to mind its own house.
I get into some detail on how to accomplish this. Go and read.
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February 13th, 2009 at 15:18
Eric,
Let me take up one critical point.
Obama (52.9%) got a bigger percentage of the popular vote than Reagan (50.7%). And, according to polls, Obama’s (68%) initial popularity was also significantly higher than Reagan’s (51%). So it isn’t really that difficult to see that a big part of the difference probably is Obama’s overwhelming popularity.
The right gets just as wrapped up in their public figures as the left, as you demonstrated by using commonly held misconceptions to prop up your rah-rah Reagan rhetoric.
That would indeed be nice. Good luck in your search.
Peace.
DS
February 13th, 2009 at 16:00
You’ll want to try again, David.
I’ve given you an answer over at PJM. Let’s just say your links are problematic.