Saturday, November 5, 2016

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Election week 2016 is not like election week 2012.

Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey October 29, 2012.  It appeared that Sandy effectively derailed the Romney/Ryan campaign.  They lost momentum; Chris Christie hugged Barack Obama; the race was over.

But that's not what happened.

The Romney/Ryan campaign ran out of gas in the second week of October.  They were running out of money.  They cut back on rallies and advertising.  Campaign staff was disoriented and didn't know where to send the candidates next.  There was no emotion among the Republican voters; no unifying theme; no issue that ignited passions.  They couldn't deal with the relentless media pounding they were getting.

I stared in disbelief as Scott Walker always the model of decorum, publicly excoriated the Romney team and Romney himself for not flooding Wisconsin with ads and rallies.  And for not parking Paul Ryan here to go from city to city in the midwest.  Wisconsin was in play.  It was winnable.  The same happened in other states that were winnable.  Governors and senators begged to have the candidates come to their states.  The Romney/Ryan campaign went into full paralysis.

They couldn't close the deal.  They lost the election.

Election week 2016 is different.  Very different.  The passions are as high has can be remembered.  Trump is 70 years old, and flying to three, four, five, or six rallies each day.  He is tireless.  His crowds are consistently huge; far larger than Clinton's crowds.  Make America Great Again resonates in rallies and in ads.  His campaign is flawless.  Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon have done a masterful job running a campaign with all the media stacked against them (as well as some in the candidate's political party).

Someone threatened to harm him tonight in Reno.  He returned to the stage and finished his speech.  We did not see heart and passion from the candidate in 2012.

The numbers have turned toward Trump at the right time.  He may win this thing.

But if he doesn't, it won't be because he and his campaign didn't give everything they have during the final week.

14 comments:

chickelit said...

What great week for Lem's Levity as well. We've heard from all correspondents this week.

edutcher said...

Trump husbanded his money wisely while Frumpty threw hers around profligately (trait?) for 4 months.

A point made by Caddell, which he stated before, is that as much as 12% of the electorate has yet to decide. That includes up to 20% of Clinton’s own supporters.

That a good many people decide at the last minute is common. That so many of them are on the fence this year is bad for the incumbent.

So Trump peaking right now is the best of all possible worlds.

chickelit said...

edutcher said...
Trump husbanded his money wisely while Frumpty threw hers around profligately (trait?) for 4 months.

ProfliGate is the mother of all American political scandals. Hillary is the scapegoat.

Evi L. Bloggerlady said...

America respects fighting for it.

ricpic said...

Romney did not connect; Trump does: that's the difference.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Agree 100% Haz. Trump keeps swinging right to the end of the fight.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"His campaign is flawless.


Are you out of your mind?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

A lot of re-writing of history.

Romney/Ryan came to Colorado in the final days of the campaign - they had to turn people away at an over-flow crowd at Red Rocks and promised to come back. They did come back -- a sold-out crowd at Fiddlers Green.

Romney Ryan made mistakes. If you think Trump's campaign has been flawless, I want some of that koolaid. Trump's missed opportunities are staggering.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

My husband and I marvel at the level of activity, energy that Trump is putting into his campaign. Multiple rallies in multiple States in the same day. Just the travel time he is putting in is staggering. Just one day riding around with Trump would put us into a dire need of a nap. Exhausting!!!

THEN...to go to each of these venues, rent the location, stage the event, put up the sound system, security. Get the word out, sell or disburse tickets,Think what a well oiled machine this whole thing is. The logistics are amazing.

Plus, now that he is reaching the end stretch, Trump and his campaign seem to be really putting in the afterburners.

If a President Trump were to run the Executive Branch and the Country in this efficient manner and with the work ethic that he is displaying..... we would ALL be pleasantly surprised and grateful. A President Hillary would be drunk and napping by 2pm and the country would be run by her minions who are as corrupt as she is, as evidenced by the Wikileaks emails.

deborah said...

haz, you remind me of the rain delay in the final game. right on DBQ, great points.

edutcher said...

The Bluebird of Happiness is mad because Trump didn't run his campaign the way the One True Ted or Little Marco did.

He didn't focus on what was proven not to have worked, the way she wanted.

He also didn't fold at media criticism, but knocked down every firewall she tried to put up to shield herself.

Maybe not flawless, but better than any of the Whigs would have done.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Marco and Ted live in ed's head.

Marco will win Florida. Will Trump?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Last I checked Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz didn't win the nomination. The un-seriousness former Clinton pal did.


edutcher said...

Yeah the former pal who's put how many states in play?

Marco may win FL. Could he have won the country? He couldn't even beat the One True Ted.

And Little Marco is the Bluebird of Happiness' heartthrob. She goes ballistic whenever someone takes his name in vain.,