The result of the 2004 Presidential Election, in which George W. Bush inexplicably, garnered another term in the Oval Office, really buttressed the argument that the United States is undoubtedly a center-right country. How else could Lil Bush have prevailed? His stewardship on the Iraq War was criminally reprehensible, Osama Bin Laden still roamed free in the tribal areas of Afghanistan, and the economy was stagnant, at best. Because of the aforementioned, Bush's approval ratings around the election time were under 50. So, if we went based upon public opinion, Bush should have lost the 2004 election.
How then did he prevail? Part of it, as many progressive writers like Glenn Greenwald have theorized, was the Republicans successfully steering the election away from substantive issues into petty, valence based issues like John Kerry's "elitism", as manifested in his inability to throw a football and his erstwhile propensity for wind surfing. The second reason, one that was a favorite of the right, was that America is inherently a center-right country, and when the candidate for the Democrats is either considered too liberal, or is not a dynamic personality, the tides swing towards the Republican candidate. According to this theory, turning to Bush in this scenario is simply in our blood.
Frankly, at the time, I did not buy the idea that America is intrinsically a "center-right" country. Perhaps it was living in, to a degree, a liberal echo chamber with my friends and family. Maybe I believed in the liberal ideals with such depth that recognition that the contrary position occupied a majority of the general public was impossible. Either way, I was unable to acknowledge that America, through and through, is of a political hue that can only be characterized as "center-right." Well, I finally do believe it, and the present contest unfolding between John McCain and Barack Obama has served as the Zapruder film, if you will.
John McCain is, at best, an unexceptional Presidential candidate. Save his harrowing experience as a POW in Vietnam, and his willingness to battle with entrenched interests over campaign finance reform, McCain's resume is hardly as decorated as his predecessors for President was. The same could easily be said for Barack Obama, but he does not have to use his resume to overcome a distinct polling deficit on issues, as John McCain is forced to do, given how unpopular the Republican brand is at present. Given how the GOP is now regarded nationally with disgust, McCain his resume to serve as a counterweight.
McCain has also run, to this point, what is at best characterized as a haphazard campaign, at worst disastrous. Listing off the faux pas he has made in the last few months exceeds the amount of space present, and also the readers attention span. But, to make the point more clearly, here are a few:
1. McCain has debunked his purported knowledge on foreign affairs with constant verbal gaffes including the absurd allegation that Iran is consorting with Al-Qaeda, to repeatedly referring to the non-existent nation of Czechoslovakia. What should have been his biggest advantage against the inexperienced Obama has been steadily eroded by McCain's continually showing his ineptitude on foreign affairs.
2. To say that his campaign has employed lobbyists, and other unsavory Beltway characters would be a colossal understatement. McCain, in a moment of pure opprobrium, was forced to institute an ethics policy for his staffers. Even with the new found ethics policy, McCain's surrogates still remained a hindrance to his campaign. For example, Charlie Black, one of McCain's chief strategists, and a former lobbyist, was crucified (justifiably so) for suggesting that an al-Qaeda attack would help his candidate. All in all, this claque has done serious damage, most of all to McCain's precious image as a "Maverick" candidate.
3. The past few months have exposed McCain as an individual whose lack of charisma makes Bob Dole look like Martin Luther King Jr. From his shatteringly bad speech behind the horrifying lime green background on the night Obama clinched, to the preponderance of untimely pauses, awkward laughs and non-inflected sentences, John McCain has cemented himself as the antithesis of a candidate for the media age. After 8 years of similar verbal maladroitness at the hands of George W. Bush, voters are not enthused about a candidate who makes Wilford Brimley look like William Shakespeare.
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And despite the aforementioned, McCain runs within a few points of Obama in most major polls. If anything, as McCain's mistakes have piled up, his poll numbers have shot up. Despite nearly all-Americans believing the country is headed in the wrong track, McCain is competitive running on a platform that wishes to continue the very policies that have so depressed and enraged the very same electorate who holds such a bleak view of the country. George W. Bush is the most unpopular President in modern history, and John McCain, has said he will continue the policies of Bush 43, while paradoxically still being able to remain competitive in this race.
While part of this can be attributed to discernible flaws in Barack Obama, from his startling lack of legislative accomplishments, to his craven refusal to fight the FISA bill, McCain's utterly puzzling poll numbers can, I believe, largely be attributed to the inherently center-right disposition of the American people.
It is a thoroughly sobering reality for us progressives. When we oppose wanton drilling on the Continental Shelf as both economically irrelevant, and a malfeasance upon the besieged environment, many Americans instead think of it as a salient solution to solve high gas prices. While we support gay marriage because we value equality and justice for all Americans, they think of it as impugning the sanctity of "traditional marriage." When we decry brazen and counterproductive acts of torture upon detainees, they think of it as the sine qua non towards solving the war on terror.
Time and time again, when we think progress has been made towards our goals, we are rebutted by the majority. A majority that is unfortunately been duped by the right to believe that religion, patriotism and duty can only be epitomized by supporting the Republican party. From the outset of this country, that notion has been instilled into to our political consciousness. Sadly, only the liberals has thus far been able to break out of this false orthodoxy....and we are distinctly smaller compared to the other class of voters in this country. Only as a result of this phenomenon do we see John McCain having any sort of chance in this election. He's run a terrible campaign, and his views on the issues are hardly the panacea to escaping the ills of this national. Only the innate center-right tendencies of American voters has saved him from an inexorable fall into defeat.
Undoubtedly, progress has been made towards obviating the strains of inequality that seep through the policies of this country. However, not enough will be made in the precious few months until the November elections. Barack Obama, however transformative a figure he may be, will not be able to neutralize the genetic tendencies towards center-right policies of our electorate.
So how does Obama overcome this disposition, and win the election? I'll tell you what won't work: Repudiating his past positions, as he did on FISA, to appease the Republican attack machine. George W. Bush exalted himself as a man who you "always knew where he stood", and Barack Obama must copy Bush in this respect. Luckily, Obama has a diametrically opposite set of policies. Policies that, given the turgid climate for the Republicans, are strong enough to overwhelm the center-right proclivity of the hoi polloi. As many pundits have already stated, this is Obama's election to lose. One of the ways he can avoid doing so is by standing, even amidst vitriolic and unrelenting criticism from the GOP, steadfast in support of positions that are exactly what the electorate tells the pollsters they want. Let the electorate vote on the issues, and not on ancillary disputes like the flag pin, or a purported flip flop. Otherwise, that center-right disposition may supersede all rationality, and allow John McCain to steal the Presidency.
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