David Von Drehle at Time takes an interesting look at the Unity, N.H. meeting between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton today:
The perfect political photo op -- and this was a pretty darn good one --isn't aimed at the rational faculties of an informed electorate. It seeks whatever section of the brain it is that triggers a tummy rumble at the sight of a moist doughnut. It's about instinct, not reason.But there's more here than meets the eye, so we'll keep going. Start with the simple fact that a truly unified political party doesn't need a unity rally. It's a long, slow bus ride down a winding two-lane road, over hills, through pines and pastures, to reach this remote New England village. The fuel that drives the bus is worry, and the worry stems from division.
Jake Tapper at ABC News' Political Punch blog takes a look at a disunified conversation between an Obama supporter and a Clinton supporter, and observes:
Just a random scene? Don't be so sure.According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 24% of Clinton's supporters are thinking of supporting McCain in November, with Obama only winning 62% of them as of now. That's why Clinton directly told them not to go for McCain today.
And those 24% may be up to no good:
Many in this loose confederation of nonconformists have embraced a mantra that runs counter to the notion of reconciliation: "Party Unity My Ass." They have taken to calling themselves "Pumas" and have adopted as their logo - on T-shirts and Facebook pages - the portrait of a snarling cougar. Though not all have the same specific grievances or agree on a course of protest, they are linked by their dissatisfaction with the primary process and its result, and are unpersuaded by the gestures of heroine Hillary.Several groups are planning marches in Denver, the site of this summer's Democratic National Convention. Others are organizing a Clinton write-in campaign or have switched to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., creating sites to promote his candidacy. Some have more targeted interests, such as establishing an ongoing critique of misogyny in the media, pressing for changes in Democratic National Committee rules on delegate selection, even the ouster of national party chairman Howard Dean. "Howard Dean is running this party like it is a Soviet-style dictatorship," fumed Faith Chatham, a Clinton delegate to the Texas Democratic convention.
Well, the candidates appeared, by all reports, to be models of unity as they met in Unity, NH. But maybe some of their more cantankerous supporters should have gathered elsewhere, rather than spoil the perfect photo-op metaphor of the little New England town.
I'd suggest Squabbletown, California.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Looking at the question through a different lens...Obama garnered over 17 million votes in the primaries, as did Clinton. McCain garnered a little less than 10 million. So if we give McCain one-quarter of Clinton's votes, plus Romney's and Huckabee's, and we give Obama three-quarters of Clinton's votes, we come out with
McCain: 20 million (give or take)
Obama: 30 million (give or take)
Obviously, that's simplistic. But looking at only poll percentages and not the raw number of votes cast is also simplistic.
I don't think Obama has to be too concerned about all the PUMA,s. Come November, the majority of them will do the same thing the majority of Republicans will do - hold their noses and vote for what's offered.
It would be lovely if people on either side who are dissatisfied would vote third party, any third party, but perhaps that is what the upper eschleon is hoping for.
I think that those cantankerous die-hard Hillary-fans would have preferred Mr. Obama to do his little media-klatch with the Party someplace else.
Like Athol, Mass.
(What can I say ? See the shot, take the shot.....)
Your servant,
Lord Karth
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.