Go read Jonathan Cohn. Now.
After describing the battle between Clinton and Obama, Cohn pivots to describe how the fall race between Obama and McCain will be different. Here's the key part of Cohn's argument:
But this fight may not play out the same way with McCain, for one simple reason: If Obama's slogan is "yes we can," McCain's is "no we can't."
Obama wants to invest heavily in better schools and public infrastructure? McCain says it will cost too much money. Obama wants to make sure every American has health insurance? McCain says it's socialized medicine. Obama wants to make free trade more humane? McCain's says no, no, no--that's messing with the free market.Even Obama's calls to change political discourse for the better--the most familiar and, at times, most empty part of his pitch--play into this dynamic. When Obama says he wants to end the politics of division, McCain dismisses it as just a slogan.
This is exactly, precisely why I have always believed Obama will win big in the fall. It is what I've always believed about Obama, all the way back to the first time I saw him speak at the convention in 2004. As Cohn explains, it is precisely the same rhetorical dynamic that played out in 1980 between Reagan and Carter, and even more so in 1932 between FDR and Hoover. "Yes we can" always - always - beats "no we can't" in times when the nation's mood is bleak. And judging from the national polls, the bleakness has reached historical levels.
The realignment is coming. Forget the Reagan Democrats coming home. The Obama Republicans are finding their new home. It's coming...
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