Beatlemania?
A supporter of Joe Biden went to the Iowa caucuses (see PJ) and encountered Beatlemania, or maybe Barackomania:
in Joe Biden I felt I had found a candidate whose character would not allow him to do anything but speak his mind; who spoke to clarify issues, not just simplify them; and who, in that once-in-a-generation way, could ideally confront the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities of his era…as I trudged through the snow to the caucus site on Thursday night, I was pretty sure I knew how things would turn out.
And “turn out” turns out to be exactly the right phrase to explain what hit my precinct last night. We had more than enough Biden supporters to maintain viability in any other recent caucus, but this year’s precinct turnout was triple the historical average.
That was quite a party for Obama in Iowa. Indeed, it was something of a rock concert in its demographics. “57% of those 17 to 29 made him their choice”, according to the Des Moines Register, and turnout was 240,000 or so, up 60% overall.
Comments: (a) we’ll just have to see what happens to this stunning wave of enthusiasm as time wears on; and (b) it is awesome to observe that human quality of yearning to believe in someone or something more perfect, particularly when it manifests itself in such a powerful collective and spontaneous outpouring of enthusiasm.
January 6th, 2008 at 10:29 am
(b) The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Yes, most people want to believe in something more perfect. I’ll note that the early followers of Hitler, Lenin, and Pol Pot probably fit that description.
I’m not equating Senator Obama with these characters; I’m cautioning that what you see isn’t always what you get. Healthy skepticism is in order. I voted for a “compassionate conservative” and domestically, the guy I got was “liberal dem lite.” Knowing what I know today, I’d do it again. We don’t get to choose the best president, we choose the least bad alternative.
What’s he promising? How much of it can he deliver? Who pays? Who benefits? Is it worth it?