Saturday, July 05, 2008

Joy Division


We're now almost a month past the moment when Hillary Clinton accepted the reality that she would not be president in 2009. It appears that some of her supporters didn't get the memo, or perhaps that they didn't like the memo. CNN, hardly a Republican outlet, is reporting that as many as a third of Clinton's supporters may be sitting on their hands this time out.


In early June, 22 percent of Clinton supporters polled said they would not vote at all if Obama were the party's nominee, now close to a third say they will stay home.

In another sign the wounds of the heated primary race have yet to heal, 43 percent of registered Democrats polled still say they would prefer Clinton to be the party's presidential nominee.

That number is significantly higher than it was in early June, when 35 percent of Democrats polled said they preferred Clinton to lead the party's presidential ticket.


That wasn't in the script. What was supposed to happen was this: Obama would begin to heal the party and bring the warring factions together, ensuring a huge victory over the hapless John McCain and the dispirited Republicans. A month on, it's gone backward. Why?


I don't claim to understand how portsiders think. But there are clues all over the place. Look to the left and see Tom Hayden issuing a jeremiad over at the always-sensible Huffington Post, which is also offering this helpful information. Look closer to the center and watch Jeff Jarvis chronicle the buyer's remorse at Buzz Machine. Even notice the restiveness at that wholly-owned subsidiary of the Obama campaign, the editorial page of the New York Times.


This was supposed to be a transformative year. Perhaps it will be. But it really helps an advancing army if all its troops are marching in the same direction. And so far, that's not happening. And as rock fans know, before you can have New Order, sometimes you have to have Joy Division. As Tom Kelly might say, "aw, that's a shame."
Cross-posted at True North

15 comments:

Right Hook said...

We haven't seen the Wicked Witch of the West Wing's feet sticking out from under the political house yet...therefore don't count her out.

For one thing, Obama has yet to produce a legitimate, authenticated birth certificate - why not? There are a multitude of other things in Obama's history that have not gotten much play in the mainstream media yet that, if sudden attention were initiated by the Clintons through the proper channels at the right time, could cause Obama's political stock to drop quickly. Note how the Reverend Wright stuff that Hannity had been hammering on for over a year suddenly got legs in mainstream coverage when Clinton hack Harold Ickes unleashed it via ABC. All of the sudden Obama started getting creamed in primaries by embarrassing margins.

The Ice Queen has not yet released her delegates and has only "suspended" her campaign and therefore has the capability to make trouble for Obama at the convention if she so chooses. The Clintons may not get the opportunity to pull it off, but if an opening presents itself don't think for a minute that they won't attempt a late smear that could either force Hillary on the ticket or bump Obama from it.

Strolling Amok said...

What we have over on the port side is passion. Most of it pro-Obama, some of it not. Read the political blogs left wing or right wing - a million posts Obama posts and pretty much zip about McCain. We care about our guy, you care about our guy. Nobody gives a rip about McWhatever. Maybe that's a winning recipe for you guys, but I seriously doubt it. If Johnny M. isn't signing his contract to do Viagra commercials on November 5th I will be seriously surprised.

Mr. D said...

Okay, SA, but that begs the question - why are you and so many other people so passionate about a guy who seems as unmoored to principle as Obama? What do you see him offering that has value? Can you name five affirmative things about this guy that make him qualified to be president? I can name five about McCain right now - (1) he has proven experience, (2) he has a long history of working to achieve bi-partisan results (even though some of these efforts have personally given me heartburn), (3) he understands the nature of the foreign policies challenges that will continue after President Bush leaves, (4) he's been steadfastly pro-life and (5) while he's caused my side heartburn on judges with the Gang of 14, he did support Roberts and Alito steadfastly and has pledged to appoint similar jurists to the Supreme Court in the future.

So what are five affirmative things that recommend Obama?

Unknown said...

I know it's not the main thrust of the post, but are you trying to say that we had to first "tolerate" Joy Division to get a far better New Order?

I realize that Ian Curtis' voice sounded a bit like Kermit the Frog after puberty at times, but Joy Division was one of the greatest & most influential bands of rock history. At least as much as New Order was to electronica.

Besides, the signature sound of both bands lays in the distictive sound of Peter Hook's bass work. When viewed from that perspective, New Order sounds much more like an evolution of Joy Division rather than a different band altogether.

Gino said...

but obama offers hope and change, and can feed the mulitudes with five slogans and two platitudes.

Mr. D said...

Dennis,

Thanks for your comments. No, I'm just making a joke based on the names of the bands, since New Order emerged from the ashes of Joy Division. And I agree, Joy Division was a good (and clearly influential) band and a very different one than New Order; if a person didn't know the history of the bands one might not even make a connection between the two because their sounds were so different.

Dan S. said...

I supposed it's also a sign of a divided party that in the photo, Mrs. Clinton appears to be breaking wind in Obama's general direction.

That's certainly no way to treat a messiah.

Strolling Amok said...

What does he have to offer? He's the most talented politician in the country at the moment and I agree with him about more stuff than the other guy. Good enough. I don't especially care for his more crazed fanboy followers, but any good thing generates fanboyz. You just have to learn to live with them.

Mr. D said...

So you can't come up with five things, then, eh SA? :)

I have a serious reason for asking the question, though. And if you were to list five things you agree with Obama about and disagree with McCain about, that would probably answer it. The problem I have is not with the "fanboyz," but with the people who aren't thinking through the implications of electing a "talented politician" who has an awfully thin resume and seems to have trouble giving a straight answer to a lot of very important questions. I know that you have thought through the implications but there are a hell of a lot of other people who haven't.

Unknown said...

Well, to be honest I may not have came over here if I hadn't seen the title "Joy Division" over at Look True North, so I guess the refernce gained you one more reader. :-)

There were several years when 90% of the time I was listening to either New Order/Joy Division or Wire.

Back on the topic of your post. The difference between Clinton & Obama is about the same as that between New York Vanilla Ice Cream & French Vanilla Ice Cream. Besides the complexion of their skin & the contents in their pants, there is no real functional difference.

Sort of like the old WaxTrax label; 10 different band names, but when you look deeper, it was all products of Al Jourgensen.

Mr. D said...

Good points, Dennis. And the Wax Trax comparison is apt. One day it's Ministry, the next it's RevCo.

Anonymous said...

Dan S. has a point; there's something Python-esque about Hillary: "Ha-hauh! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father stank of elderberries, and where is your birth certificate!"

Obama: "Activating cloaking device."

Mr. D said...

I can see that, NW. I'm just waiting to see Hillary start lobbing livestock over the wall of the castle.

W.B. Picklesworth said...

Pitchez la vache!!!

Anonymous said...

Pitchez la vache?

Pitchez la vache!!!

Now go away you tiny-brained wiper of special interests' bottoms or I will taunt you a second time!

It's going to be a great convention!