Politics and Thinking Things Through

[boffo]

I frequently see political wonk types make an argument along the lines of "the political party or faction I dislike will make a strategically stupid move, and it will be disastrous for their side and great for my side

Comments

[boffo]

None of those people had negatives as high as Palin prior to the campaign. Whether or not her reputation is deserved, it exists and Republicans can't wish it away.

If she runs and gains any sort of traction, a majority of Republicans would recognize the problem and rally around an alternative.

Primaries favor extremist candidates only in lower profile races. Not for the Presidency. In every Presidential election since I've been old enough to pay attention, the candidates who presented themselves as the moderates won the nomination for both parties. (They may not have actually been moderate, but they presented themselves that way.)

[boffo]

Starting in 1992, which is when I was old enough to pay attention, and ignoring incumbents:

1992: Clinton was the moderate
1996: Dole was the moderate
2000: People forget that Bush ran as a moderate because he's so polarizing now, but that's how he ran in 2000. Remember "Compassionate conservatism" and "I'm a uniter, not a divider?" I suppose it's debatable whether McCain was even more moderate. But clearly the primary voters quickly coalesced around the two most moderate candidates.
2004: Kerry was more moderate than Edwards
2008: McCain was clearly the most moderate of the Republicans. And Obama presented himself as a moderate post-partisan.

[magdalene1]

Well-stated, as usual.

Speaking of terrible ideas, there are some that we CAN assume will be implemented. I thought of you yesterday when I saw that they're making Rubik's Cube: The Movie. Was that on your master list of terrible ideas?

[boffo]

I don't remember whether that was on the list of terrible movie ideas, but it certainly should have been.

The studios are at their second-most creative when coming up with ideas that are so bad nobody would have imagined them. (They most creativity in the studios comes from their Accounting departments.)

[perich]

They can see why it would be disastrous as well as you can. So either they won't do it, or one of you is wrong about how disastrous it will be. And you have no basis for assuming that you're correct and they're wrong.

This is a very good way of putting it.