The term “canary in the coal mine” comes from the fact that miners used to bring caged canaries into mines because, if there were noxious gasses in those mines (carbon monoxide, methane, etc.) the canary would die more quickly than the miners would…and they would then know to get out of the mine before it happened to them.
Neil Abercrombie is the Governor of Hawaii. This is his re-election year…but first he had to run in a primary, in which he was pitted against State Senator David Ige.
President Obama – who won a remarkable 71% of the vote in Hawaii just two years ago – came out strongly in favor of Governor Abercrombie.
Between Barack Obama\’s wholehearted endorsement and the fact that no incumbent Governor has ever lost a primary in Hawaii, there was no issue at all in the primary, right?
Wrong.
Not only did Abercrombie lose, but David Ige more than doubled his vote total, winning 67% to 32%.
Let\’s see: an incumbent Governor is endorsed by President Obama, who was hugely popular in Hawaii just two years ago, loses to his primary challenger by more than two to one.
Suppose you are a Democrat in a competitive race this year. Knowing this, would you seek out President Obama\’s endorsement? Would you ask him to campaign with you?
That\’s like asking whether you want to be the miner or the canary.
