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"Barack Obama is obviously scrambling in his attempt to win re-election. He has proclaimed himself the underdog and has given up his pretense of being a pragmatic centrist compromiser in favor of harsh class warfare rhetoric.But it's worth taking note of what he has squandered. In 2008 Obama won 53 percent of the popular vote. That may not sound like a landslide, but it's more than any other Democratic presidential nominee in history except Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.Higher than Woodrow Wilson or Grover Cleveland, higher than Harry Truman or John Kennedy, higher than Jimmy Carter or (but don't bring up the subject with him) Bill Clinton.Why have so few Democratic nominees won 53 percent or more, as 10 different Republican nominees have? The historical reason is that the Democratic Party has been an unruly coalition of disparate groups -- big city Catholics and Southern whites for the century after the Civil War -- which was usually hard to hold together.Similarly, Obama's 2008 coalition included two-thirds of young voters and Latinos, majorities of those earning more than $200,000 and less than $50,000, non-college whites in the Upper Midwest and 95 percent of blacks nationwide. Some obvious tensions there.Now his strategists feel obliged to pick which groups he'll concentrate on to get back up to 50 percent. What's interesting is that his demographic strategists and his issue strategists seem to be eyeing different groups.The demographic targeters in their quest for 270 electoral votes have decided to concentrate on traditionally Republican states that Obama carried in 2008, according to a report in the New York Times. They note that some of these states -- Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina -- have above-average percentages of college-educated voters, who trended strongly toward Obama."
Barone: Obama team: how to rally unruly coalition? Michael Barone October 8, 2011 at 5:56pmQuote"Barack Obama is obviously scrambling in his attempt to win re-election. He has proclaimed himself the underdog and has given up his pretense of being a pragmatic centrist compromiser in favor of harsh class warfare rhetoric.But it's worth taking note of what he has squandered. In 2008 Obama won 53 percent of the popular vote. That may not sound like a landslide, but it's more than any other Democratic presidential nominee in history except Andrew Jackson, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.Higher than Woodrow Wilson or Grover Cleveland, higher than Harry Truman or John Kennedy, higher than Jimmy Carter or (but don't bring up the subject with him) Bill Clinton.Why have so few Democratic nominees won 53 percent or more, as 10 different Republican nominees have? The historical reason is that the Democratic Party has been an unruly coalition of disparate groups -- big city Catholics and Southern whites for the century after the Civil War -- which was usually hard to hold together.Similarly, Obama's 2008 coalition included two-thirds of young voters and Latinos, majorities of those earning more than $200,000 and less than $50,000, non-college whites in the Upper Midwest and 95 percent of blacks nationwide. Some obvious tensions there.Now his strategists feel obliged to pick which groups he'll concentrate on to get back up to 50 percent. What's interesting is that his demographic strategists and his issue strategists seem to be eyeing different groups.The demographic targeters in their quest for 270 electoral votes have decided to concentrate on traditionally Republican states that Obama carried in 2008, according to a report in the New York Times. They note that some of these states -- Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina -- have above-average percentages of college-educated voters, who trended strongly toward Obama."http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/article/barone-obama-team-how-rally-unruly-coalition?utm_source=%20Washington%20Examiner%20Political%20Digest%20Columbus%20Day%20EXTRA%20-%2010/10/2011&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Washington%20Examiner:%20Political%20Digest Are we having fun yet!!!!!
They should call Karl Rove, that's his forte.
