Today’s paragraphs come to us from a long-time source of intelligent political analysis, Michael Barone.
Mr. Barone has written a column for the Washington Examiner, about why this year’s presidential polling was so wrong (actually, truth be told, it wasn’t that far wrong – but the paragraphs I’m going to quote are unrelated to the polling issue).
One of the reasons he cites is Hillary Cilnton’s incompetence (and the incompetence of the people around her).
Here are the key paragraphs from that part of his commentary:
The Clinton campaign spent time and money on winning Arizona and Georgia, and while it performed better there than Obama had, it was not by enough to carry their 11 and 16 electoral votes, respectively. At the same time, Clinton didn’t set foot in Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) after its April 5 primary. In effect, Clinton was aiming for her 340th electoral vote and ignored the need to campaign for her 270th, which is the one that counts.
The 70-year-old Bill Clinton apparently repeatedly advised Clinton campaign chairman Robby Mook and others to campaign in white working class areas. The 36-year-old Mook spurned — perhaps ridiculed — his advice. None of this going after men who wear trucker hats unironically; let’s show Brooklyn-type Millennials that supporting Hillary is really cool.
So you have the Clinton campaign dispatching “West Wing actors” to Ohio and capping their Pennsylvania campaign with a Saturday night concert in Philadelphia featuring Lady Gaga and Beyonce. “This Philadelphia event is just so excellent,” tweeted 33-year-old former Obama speechwriter Jon Lovett, who co-wrote Obama’s 2011 White House Correspondents’ dinner speech tweaking Donald Trump. The campaign’s target audience!
That is an excellent analysis. And it’s hardly surprising I would feel this way, since I wrote about it right up to the day of the election…which is why Mr. Barone wins Paragraphs Of The Day honors.
What did I say about the “rust belt” working areas? Here are my exact words on election day.
Trump can win if:
-Blue collar workers break his way because they believe his “keep the jobs in the USA” promises speak to them. If they buy in, and are enthused enough to go to the polls in larger-than-usual numbers (a very real possibility), than Trump will win Ohio…and may take Michigan, Wisconsin, possibly even the usually elusive Pennsylvania, along for the ride.
With that in mind, where was Hillary Clinton when Donald Trump was standing in front of record crowds in those states, talking about jobs, jobs, jobs – with no “entertainers” used to build up the crowds (and many of whose fans, not surprisingly, left after they were finished rather than listen to someone old enough to be their grandmother making a political speech)?
Nowhere, that’s where.
Bye-bye Hillary.
News Flash:
– – – – – People vote their pocketbooks.
.
Zeke, not all of them. I usually vote for what I think is best for the state or country. More times than not against my best interests. I can’t believe I am alone in doing this.