There's a runoff for the U.S. Senate tonight in Georgia -- a weird vestige of the old days in the Deep South when a candidate needed 50 percent to win an election, just to make sure no trickery upset the white Democratic (in those days) power structure. And you would think the Dems might have some momentum, even in the Deep South, what with Obama's victory and his early high approval rating (until he actually, you know, does something) and the confirmation that we've been in a recession for over a year now.
But no -- it looks like Saxby Chambliss, the Republican who became a senator with vicious smears on a disabled war hero, is well on his way to keeping the seat for the GOP.
What gives? Probably several factors (I'm sure Sarah Palin, who campaigned for Chambliss, will claim some credit) but I suspect you'll find new evidence of how remarkable Obama's victory last month really was, that it was fueled by higher-than-average turnout among young voters, new voters, and among blacks and other minorities. Those are exactly the voters you would NOT expect to show up in a less publicized one-election runoff. Plus they probably weren't getting all the text messages, and what not, that they got for Obama.
The result also raises the question of why Obama didn't campaign in person for the Democrat, Jim Martin (he did record a radio ad). Clearly, Obama didn't want to risk his new prestige and campaign overtly for a possible loser. Obama, we're seeing, is not a risk-taker.
On the other hand, the Democratic push for a 60-senator "filibuster proof" majority is a greatly overhyped story. One of those 60 would have been Joe Lieberman. Do you honestly think he would vote with the Democrats on Iraq? Getting to 51 was critical for the Dems because it meant picking a majority leader and committee chairs; filibusters depend on the issue as much as the party.
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Isn't there a reason when any candidate wins or loses? Look, Ga. is a Republican state, yet on 11/4 Chambliss only lead by 3 points. I think Obama attracted a lot of voters who weren't motivated to turn out tonight. But I could be wrong. Maybe they just all swooned for Sarah Palin.— will- Comment removed.
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I listen to Senate hearings so I am familiar with the fact that now that George Allen is out, Saxby Chambliss is the next-to-dumbest member of the U.S. Senate (think Bunning), so I was disappointed but not surprised that he was re-elected. Obama can count votes, so of course he did not become too involved with the Georgia run-off. Besides, he is apparently quite busy in Chicago.- Comment removed.
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- Why is Chambliss winning? Simple. It's GEORGIA people!!! God, gays, guns, commies, nigras, you know the deal.. Must be weird to live in a land that time forgot. Are they wearing shoes down there yet?— ClarkU
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- Boy, there's a shock. Sloboat defending the smearing of an American war hero as a supporter of terrorism. Why does sloboat hate American war heroes? Oh right, it's only Democratic war heroes he hates. My bad.— Talking point sleuth
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I think what Will is saying here is that young, new, and minority voters didn't come to vote because they like liberalism, or Democrat ideas, they just got caught up in the Obama hip, text-messaging personality machine. In other words personality trumps ideas.— jmc- I think that this idea that Obama didn't get more personally involved in the GA runoff because he read the political winds (and I've heard it a lot among the chattering class) might miss the mark. Maybe he didn't get more involved because he's made a conscious decision to move out of political mode and into governing mode and that means an arms length relationship with election campaigns. Imagine that, a US President who's primary focus is on governing, not just on winning elections. Now that's change I can believe in!— GreyHippie
If you don't get behind the President Elect you are Un-American
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About Will Bunch
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Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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