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LIFE OF THE PARTY RETURNING AT LAST
I hadn't realized she had left. But things have changed. First, America is very close to flat out winning in Iraq. This shouldn't be a partisan data point, but it is, and Republicans are starting to hold their chins high, thanks to the success of the surge, which, far more than the war, was an almost purely Republican initiative. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have managed to drive Congress' approval ratings to near absolute zero. Also, if you don't actually think Barack Obama is a higher life form, listening to the press talk like Princess Leia for a year - "Help us Obama Wan Kenobi, you're our only hope!" - can get really old. Republicans feel a lot like Elaine in that Seinfeld episode where she was the only person in the world who didn't understand why everyone fawned over "The English Patient." Changing everything was Sarah Palin. Oh, her. Suddenly, conservatives not only found something to love on the GOP ticket, but the boldness of the pick suggested that the outcome wasn't written in stone. The tectonic plates are definitely rumbling. Partisan Democrats may not believe it, but independents and dispirited Republicans now see the McCain-Palin pick as a sharp break with Bush (McCain now has a double-digit lead over the "post-partisan" Obama among independents). The Democrats' advantage in party identification has been cut from the mid-high teens earlier this summer to a mere five points, and the shrinkage continues. Gallup's generic poll asking voters whom they'd vote for for Congress may be even more telling. Last month, Democrats led by 11 points; now the GOP is down 3 points among registered voters. And among likely voters, Republicans are actually a full five points ahead. Now, obviously, this is all a snapshot of the race, as they say, but sometimes you can tell a lot from a snapshot. Take a snapshot of the fans at a baseball game sometime right before they think they've lost, and compare it to a snapshot taken right after a game-changing home run, and you'll see what I mean. Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-09-14 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=249997 |