Sometimes in big rivalry football games you will see signs from one side that say "Paybacks Are Hell." I'm beginning to wonder if Barack Obama in 2008 is some sort of divine payback for the Democrats.
When Ronald Reagan was President, he frustrated the living hell out of the Democrats in Congress. They did everything they could to undercut him and still the voters loved him.
"Reagan Democrats" made the day for the GOP, undermining a key constituency of the Democratic Party, one that kept the White House in GOP hands for 12 years until Bill CIinton won it back.
Reagan was known as the "Teflon" President, because nothing really stuck to him. It may be that we are watching the Teflon President, version 2.0 this year in the form of Sen. Obama.
Just as Democrats drove themselves nuts trying to figure out why voters wouldn't penalize Reagan on a host of issues, I see GOP voters doing the same right now.
Williams Ayers? Doesn't seem to matter.
Reverend Wright? Sure seems like ages ago that he was an issue.
"Spread the wealth?" So far that hasn't seemed to work.
Saying that Obama will raise your taxes, that he's a big government liberal - two items that the GOP rode to victory often in the last 28 years, those haven't worked either.
One other parallel I think I've just witnessed was how Obama prospered in the debates. Reagan had only one debate with Carter, but it seemed to convince the voters that he could be President.
From there, it turned into a landslide.
"With the superior ground game and an almost unlimited budget, I smell a landside especially in electoral votes," my father wrote in an email to me yesterday.
Maybe that is where we are heading. Depends on which poll you want to look at, eh?
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