Newsweek breaks down Obama’s chances in Missouri
Newsweek’s Sarah Kliff was among the traveling press corps that followed Democratic veep nominee Joe Biden to St. Louis yesterday, filing an interesting dispatch assessing Barack Obama’s chances of winning Missouri.
“Can the Democrats flip Missouri this year? The state has gone Republican in the last two elections, but Democrats say Obama is more invested in winning this state than McCain,” Kliff writes. “Obama’s been campaigning hard in Missouri since he won the nomination, and not just in the state’s liberal enclaves. One of his first general-election stops, in facts, was in Cape Girardeau, hometown of conservative shock jock Rush Limbaugh.”
Of course, we’ve heard this before from Democratic presidential candidates, as Kliff notes:
During the last election cycle, I saw presidential nominee John Kerry speak in St. Louis and promise Missourians that “this is the Show Me state and we’re going to show George Bush the door.” It didn’t quite work out that way. On Election Day 2004, Kerry lost the state by 7.2 percent, more than double Al Gore’s margin of defeat in 2000. Experts note that Missouri has shifted rightward over the last two election cycles, and it’s unclear whether Obama is the candidate to reverse the slide.
What Kliff does not mention is Kerry actually gave up on Missouri, withdrawing his campaign resources to the angst of down-ticket Democrats such as Claire McCaskill, who was running for governor at the time.
Kliff, however, correctly points that Missouri has gone for the eventual president in every election since 1904 except 1956. (We didn’t like Ike.)
That pattern of prognostication should make the Show-Me stakes clear to both parties.
The post-turtle.
While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old Texas rancher, whose hand was caught in a gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his bid to be our President.
The old rancher said, ‘Well, ya know, Obama is a ‘Post turtle’.
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him, ‘What’s a ‘Post turtle’?’
The old rancher said, ‘When you ‘re driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a ‘ Post turtle.’
The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor’s face, so he continued to explain. ‘You know he didn’t get up there by himself, he doesn’t belong up there, he doesn’t know what to do while he is up there, and you just wonder……what kind of a dumb ass put him up there in the first place?’
[A rimshot for Lunacy]
History lesson: Ike carried Missouri in 1952, but in 1956 MO was the only state that Ike had won in 1952 but lost in 1956. It was not a statewide phenomenon. In St Louis City and County and most of the eastern half of the state, Ike improved his 1956 numbers over 1952. But (for reasons I am still trying to learn) there was a Democratic trend in western Missouri in 1956 which was responsible for Stevenson’s win here and the only blemish on the state’s century-long bellwether status. That western MO Democratic spike even elected a Democratic congressman in the Springfield area.
I don’t know, Amazedbythelunacy. It seems that “post-turtle” is a better description of Sarah Palin.
“Can the Democrats flip Missouri this year?”
Not likely…
Lewis, you can insert whomever you wish for the object. That is the way I received the joke and thought it was funny. Palin may be a “post-turtle” but she is second string. Democrats have a Post turtle on the starting squad.
Is the Obama camp running against Palin or McCain? Seems they have lost their focus and she has garnered all of their attention.
Lewis:
“I don’t know, Amazedbythelunacy. It seems that “post-turtle” is a better description of Sarah Palin.”
Last time i checked palin wasn’t running for the president. since these are the two options of lack of experience i’d rather it be in the VP seat than the Pres seat.
Amazed -
I am certain it was a funny story the first time you heard it. Of course, the punch line applies to people telling the story in the first place.
As to the Newsweek article, part of what is not fully appreciated by the Republicans is that Barack Obama’s rhetoric is inspiring many who have not felt inspired by the “politics as usual” crowd in both parties. The false dichotomies posed by the Bush-Cheney-Rove crowd while convenient in that they are familiar (”are you for flag burning or not”; “have you stopped beating your wife yet”, etc).
So what do the Republicans do, they attack Presidential Nominee Obama for his rhetoric and ability to speak. But I am not surprised since most of the Republican strategists cannot think more than one sarcastic line at a time.
Get ready for even more of the vicious jibberish from:
D.-I.M.Nuts-Walker … garrison … CLARKE … et al.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/_palin_family_shockers_what_sarahs_really_hiding/celebrity/65407
Let’s not forget the 30-person Obama/Axelrod investigation team sent to Alaska… how quickly they can turn-on the levers of personal destruction. Starts in the National Enquirer, works its way into the blogosphere, then subtle mentions in NYTimes, DNC-TV-MSNBC and then the looney left belief system.
Un.Believe.Able
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RHarnack — and you’re STILL writing about American society after turning your back on the helpless?
Put lipstick on a gutless pig and you’ve still got yourself a gutless pig.
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BobZ,
Speaking of gutless MEN. Why is McCain so comfortable hiding behind a woman’s skirt?