Wednesday, November 03, 2004
The geography of victory and the pathology of defeat
"A broad, nationwide victory"?
It would almost be comical if it weren't for the seriousness of what it portends. This election cut the nation in two. A single percentage point over 50% is not broad. A victory that carried no states in the Northeast, close to none in the Industrial midwest is not nationwide, and none on the west coast is not nationwide.
I agree with him, but he is wrong from at least one point of view. County by county, the Bush victory is very dramatic. Look at the sea of red(pdf).
I do not agree, though, with Marshall's claim in the same post that Bush is responsible for "tearing this country apart." From where I sit -- in a navy blue town in a royal blue state -- the Democratic faithful have been astonishingly emotional and hostile for four years. Perhaps they have been no more enraged than the right during the Clinton years, but their hostility and contempt seem unprecedented. Nationally, politicians, professors, producers and "artists" of every stripe are nothing but contemptuous of the president and his supporters. The chattering classes believe that he is an idiot or a puppet and do not hesitate to use such terms in public forums. In my town, even unenthusiastic Bush supporters operate under deep cover. We get crazy emails from our relatives and have to walk by "Bush=Hitler" signs every day. The Bushies are not without responsibility for this, but it is beyond ridiculous to blame them, and them alone, for tearing the country apart. The left has become completely unhinged, and until it re-hinges it will be difficult to find some common ground. That can't happen until the left accepts some responsibility for its own role in our great national hate-fest. Josh Marshall isn't helping things.
3 Comments:
By 
Bren, at
Wed Nov 03, 07:54:00 PM:
On the county issue, oh please. The map is nearly identical to the Bush/Gore county map (you know, the one the wingers put on their "Bush country" tshirts). You might as well argue that going by the state map, Bush won the square footage vote by a landslide. Last I checked, people vote, and 51-48 is not a broad, nationwide victory.
Second of all, it appears that the centerpiece of Bush's strategy was to get high turnout from voters who support the restriction of rights for a particular segment of Americans. If that's not 'tearing this country apart', I don't know what is.
By 
, at
Thu Nov 04, 04:06:00 PM:
Spot on, again, TH.
I think Bush took the right tone in accepting Kerry's concession, and the right tone again today when he basically said it takes two to tango. He'll reach across the aisle, but his arms are only so long.
As for Brendan, he should medicate. No President has won a majority of the popular vote since Bush 41, and no president seeking re-election has won a majority since Reagan.
Other accomplishements of substance (from NRO):
-Became the first President to be re-elected while gaining seats in the House and Senate since 1936 and the first Republican President since 1924 to be re-elected while re- electing Republican House and Senate majorities.
-Received 57.4 million votes - more than any other candidate in history. He broke President Reagan's 1984 mark of 54.5 million. (96% reporting)
-Increased the popular vote by seven million votes since 2000 - more than twice Clinton's increase from 1992 to 1996.
-Improved his percentage in every state except four (MD, OR, VT and WY). This includes a four percent increase in John Kerry's home state, Massachusetts.
His gains in Congress means he has coattails. Coattails plus majority of popular support plus solid majority in Congress equals MANDATE.
Hedge Fund Guy
By , at
Thu Nov 04, 04:58:00 PM:
First, I think your right-leaning tendencies color your thinking on the unprecedented vitriol launched against the President. Last time I checked, there aren't the legions of left-wing talk shows blasting this president the way there were right-wing talk shows that blasted Clinton. Those right-wing talkers remain to this day, playing wingman for the President.
Second, Hedge Fund Guy must be better at the math involved in managing money than in examining election statistics. Bush ran a great campaign, much better than Kerry's, but a 51-48% margin for a war-time incumbent is hardly a mandate. Ronald Reagan had huge margins that signified a mandate. This election signified that both sides got out a huge number of voters, and the Republicans did a better job of getting out more.
The Centrist
