On Wed, 12 Sep 2007, Doug Henwood wrote:
>> http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_el_pr/obama_iraq
>
> Hillary's gonna triangulate this, as she has all along - which is why
> she's a steady 16 points ahead of Obama. Split the difference: that's
> the American way!
In the presidential elections certainly. But in the Dem primaries, I wonder. According to most polls, if she split the difference on this, that would place her way to the right of the majority of Dem primary voters; those polls seem to show all the Dem candidates to the right of the primary voters.
With that as a starting point, it would seem that Barack's attempt to get himself branded as the anti-war candidate vs. Hillary the dilatory is kind of canny. Hillary can be counted on to take the bait, thinking that the way to victory is to show that Barack isn't establishment enough on foreign policy. And if Dem primary voters see it as a two way choice between two identical candidates, one more anti-war than the other, it seems guaranteed they'll choose brand anti. If polls are to be trusted.
But who cares? Whoever it is, they'll do the same thing once they get in, constrained by the same forces, choosing from the same personnel pool, playing to the same funders. This is just a pepsi vs. coke ad campaign.
And even if it wasn't it wouldn't matter. In a state-based first-past-the-post system, most of us were disenfranchised before the vote started. It doesn't matter who I vote for, or how many neighbors I persuade. My state's vote is already in the Dem column.
I haven't been so alienated from a campaign since I was a young pup.
Michael