Um, why, exactly?
According to a recent poll, 28 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters say they would defect to McCain were Obama to receive the nomination, and 19 percent of Obama supporters say the same thing about Clinton.
Now, CNN seems to be focusing on the higher percentage for Clintonians than Obamaniacs. I, on the other hand, am equally taken with both numbers, simply because they seem to me utterly ridiculous. Pretty much everyone agrees that the differences between the policy proposals from the Obama and Clinton camps are basically negligible. So why the defection? There hasn't been all that much animosity between the two campaigns, especially compared to many others we've seen in recent years. Are people really going to be that bitter?
Personally, my money is on "no". What people say in polls versus what they do in the booth can be two remarkably different things, and I'll bet in both cases, the number of defectors would be small. My best bet is that supporters of the candidates are trying to make the larger case that it is really just that important for their specific candidate to win. You know, for the chance to lose the general election to John McCain.
Song lyric of the day:
"Nah, it's cool. You go. I'll stay.
Perfectly at home with this dread"
- Destroyer, Dark Leaves Form a Thread
Now, CNN seems to be focusing on the higher percentage for Clintonians than Obamaniacs. I, on the other hand, am equally taken with both numbers, simply because they seem to me utterly ridiculous. Pretty much everyone agrees that the differences between the policy proposals from the Obama and Clinton camps are basically negligible. So why the defection? There hasn't been all that much animosity between the two campaigns, especially compared to many others we've seen in recent years. Are people really going to be that bitter?
Personally, my money is on "no". What people say in polls versus what they do in the booth can be two remarkably different things, and I'll bet in both cases, the number of defectors would be small. My best bet is that supporters of the candidates are trying to make the larger case that it is really just that important for their specific candidate to win. You know, for the chance to lose the general election to John McCain.
Song lyric of the day:
"Nah, it's cool. You go. I'll stay.
Perfectly at home with this dread"
- Destroyer, Dark Leaves Form a Thread
1 Comments:
I think the numbers are inflated, but I think there's some truth to them too. I'm a Hilary supporter who doesn't know if he'd support Obama against McCain. I think it's all tied up (for most people at least) in the question of whether or not we trust the individual to actually lead the country. It doesn't have anything to do with policy, but with some of those other considerations that go into deciding who to support. I see Obama as a party lap-dog, and Clinton as someone with the strength to think for herself (and her country). I see Obama as pulling this "I'm not a politician" crap and that concerns me. I know he's a politician (just like Clinton), and that's fine, but he's lying about it to our faces. That troubles me. So I know who I will vote for in Clinton vs. McCain. I don't in Obama vs. McCain. And I think there are a lot of people who feel the same way (for both Clinton and Obama), and it's all based on their personalities, not policies.
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