I agree with you and yours that people just don't feel Hillary like they do Barack, or even Edwards. Quite a few people I know very well get nigh hysterical about the prospect. (That's no doubt part of why my knee has been jerking so hard against Obama this past week--it's the protection reflex at work.)

But I lean towards thinking that will not be a problem for Dem enthusiasm in November.

To take but one demo, young people displayed mad enthusiasm in 2004, came out in huge numbers for Kerry, despite perhaps a general lack of feeling for dude in comparison to, say, Dean. I kinda think whomever the Dem nominee is, that trend will continue. If Hillary is the nominee, there will likely be a groundswell of feminist fundraising and GOTVing as well.

If Romney is the nominee, that might be an electric prod too. McCain and Huckabee generate much more buzz amongst independents and evangelicals respectively, (Reep voters under 30 are a rare breed, and have been rarer still in the primaries...) and their relative authenticity--setting aside their platforms for a second--makes either of them tougher opponents. But Romney seems like the perfect enemy for Dems to rally against: a double-talking, attack-dogging, vote-pandering, inauthentic, officious, 6-foot-2 square-jawed version of W.

Thing is, as of tonight, it looks like McCain may win.

Obama vs. McCain or Hillary vs. McCain. Do those contests sound exciting?

Labels: 2008 elections, 2G2K Circus, Hillary, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Republicans

So I'm with you and man, I can't tell you how mad I am Rudy is half-stepping through all this. If there's anyone who is sharkbait for folks like us the way Hillary is for the Reeps, it's Rudy. Nobody would get a bloc of militantly skeptical hip-hop non-voters ready to rock like the prospect of nationalizing Giuliani Time for 4 years, after 8 of what we've just been through.

But anyway, put a fork in him.

What's funny about politics is the way it twists a candidate up. As the Times notes today, Rudy is now campaigning as a Reep version of Obama Lite, decrying negativity, trolling for votes in multiculti neighborhoods, and hugging it up with Judith and everyone. (An anti-Romney move, though since Giuliani is so far behind in the polls, it doesn't matter.)

It might be added that since he's started late, his basically bicoastal campaign makes him seem like exactly the kind of stereotypical NY-CA liberal that most of the country loves to hate. So yeah, you're right. He can't have been serious. If he was, he might have used his bank to hire someone who actually had a clue.

On a different topic, The Times and some commenters here have noted that there's a huge enthusiasm gap with the Reep race this year. Nevada alone turned out over 10x as many Dems to the caucuses this year as they did in 2004, and 3x as many as Reeps. How do you think this translates to the general election?

Labels: 2008 elections, 2G2K Circus, Republicans, Rudy Giuliani