The 2008 Election

The two major party representatives in the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama and John McCain, weren't completely in step with their parties respective elite and general ideology. That is to say, in comparison to nominees in previous elections, these two candidates didn't bring together their parties coalitions and the many factions contained within quite as unanimously.

On the Democratic side, the primaries became a two candidate race after John Edwards was forced to remove himself from consideration. In the invisible primary, discussed at some length in the Cohen piece, Hillary Clinton was the presumptive party favorite who had garnered the majority of the major party endorsements, although it certainly wasn't a consensus and there was some trepidation within the party ranks. However, after the initial primaries, Obama quickly emerged and it became clear to most that he was a polished campaigner and had put together an impressive organization. I feel in the end that the Democratic Party must have realized that Obama represented their best chance of taking back the White House, even though he wasn't a creature of the party and the party establishment may have been somewhat hesitant to support him.

On a quick note, I recall supporting Obama initially because I believed he would fare better than Hillary in the general election, as there was more ammunition for the Republicans to fire at her. In addition, a polarizing candidate such as Hillary would have provided the Republicans with additional motivation to rally around McCain more completely in an effort to keep her out of the White House.

On the Republican side, there were a group of possible nominees who differed significantly in style and ideology. Eventually, McCain survived the scrum and the party, somewhat begrudgingly, mobilized around him. Obviously, McCain has developed a reputation in the Senate for being a moderate, and he has certainly alienated many elements of the Republican Party. However, in the general election, McCain began to sound more and more like a typical Republican, parroting the Bush administration on the economy and Iraq, and became someone the right would approve of. In the end, I believe he was more an agent of his party than his Democratic counterpart.

In regard to advances in technology, I feel that this has caused the balance between party-centered campaigns and those that focus on the candidate to be more elusive and difficult to achieve. The Internet and other modern forms of communication seem to have produced more campaigns revolving around the candidate. As detailed in Teachout, parties have yet to take full advantage of the organizing potential of the Internet and haven't harnessed its complete power, instead using it mainly as a fundraising mechanism. Obama explored this to great effect in his campaign, as he generated much enthusiasm and raised a staggering amount of money through online means.

sorry, here is the link

link

McCain and the Internets

This article is from June 2008, during the general election but before the conventions. It pertains to our subject matter here, as it involves the use of the internet in presidential campaigning. It discusses the wide gap which existed between Obama and McCain in regard to the advantages technology can provide.http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/mccain-and-the-internets/?pagemode=printlink

3 Lawmakers Will Return Money Tied to Lobbyist

Well, in the spirit of special interests and inappropriate campaign contributions, we have this article. It appears it is a group of democrats who have overindulged this time.link

Primaries, Nominations and Campaign Finance Reform, oh my

As explained in the text, the presidential nominee for each major party is determined during the primary season. This was not always the case, as in the past this anointing would usually occur at the respective party conventions. Candidates are now accumulating the required number of delegates necessary to ensure their parties nomination seemingly earlier and earlier each year, thereby reducing the party conventions to meaningless, media generated spectacles. There is certainly some party business to attend to, most notably the potentially intriguing vice presidential selections, but in reality the convention is more or less a formality.

The modern primary process has been altered by a phenomenon known as front loading. This unfolds when states, in an effort to have a significant impact on the election of a president, reschedule their primaries for an earlier date. This continuing trend has caused more primaries to take place in February and March, in turn causing more candidates to deplete their resources and drop out of the race as well as enabling more candidates to secure the nomination earlier in the process.

Over the years, there have been various attempts at reforming the campaign finance system. Of course, the most recent legislation would be the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2002. On a side note, it is rather comical that it was Bush who was pressured into signing this bill into law, or any Republican for that matter, as they enjoyed distinct advantages using the previous fundraising mechanism. While this reform effort was genuine and completely necessary, as well as an encouraging example of bipartisan cooperation in government, it has proven to be not so infallible.

It is rather difficult to control and regulate campaign expenditures in our current environment. There appears to be more of a gray area in regard to the monitoring of individual and especially PAC contributions to a campaign, as opposed to the parties themselves. There is still access to soft money in the form of so-called 527 groups, who can use unlimited funds provided they maintain the illusion of impartiality and independence from a particular campaign. As the text suggests, this notion is absurd, as some of these groups are directly influencing the outcome of elections.

Deal Reached on $789 Billion Stimulus

Here is an interesting article that provided an example of actual compromise in the house and senate. It would appear that the Democrats made most of the concessions to get this done. link

Decentralization and Heterogeneity

The motives of the founding fathers in regard to two provisions placed in the Constitution are explicitly clear.  Federalism and the separation of powers were both created to prevent one faction or entity from acquiring an unbalanced amount of power within the system.

The rise to prominence of two major political parties in America was likely a development the founding fathers couldn't have envisioned.  They certainly wouldn't be able to fathom how the system has evolved over the years, particularly considering the influence that special interests and other elements of society have brought to bear on the two major parties.  However, the original intent of the founding fathers is still relevant today.

Because of decentralization, there are a myriad of entities within a political party acting in concert at times, but for the most part acting independently at the local, state and national levels.  Heterogeneity explains the broad diversity found amongst the populace, and the pulse of the people dictates the agendas of the major parties, specifically during the election cycle.

One observation I would like to make in regard to the two major parties is this.  If we accept the premise that the main objective of the major parties is to win elections, then logic suggests that they would do or say anything to achieve this goal.  They will engage in relentless pandering towards a wide variety of demographics, then conveniently forget whatever promises or concessions were made after the election concludes.

As far as the state of both parties after the recent election, the Democrats seem to be much healthier than the Republicans for obvious reasons.  The McCain campaign was an unmitigated disaster, and their rhetoric rings hollow and is rather outdated.  I suppose they were doomed anyway because of the economy and the completely justified link between Bush and McCain.  Whatever the reasons, there is a massive power vacuum in the Republican Party that needs to be filled and will therefore determine the future direction of the party.  I , for one, am amused by their current struggles.