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Hernando Today

Two Coronations In One Year

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By DONALD J. MYERS, A Mind of My Own

Hernando Today

Published: September 13, 2008

A year ago, it was almost a general belief, at least among Democrats, that Sen. Hillary Clinton would be the nominee for the party. Anyone who opposed her for that nomination was wasting his time and donators money.
And then came "Super Tuesday" and the coronation and crowning were in trouble. That was followed by several more losses in caucuses and small states, but Sen. Barack Obama definitely had the momentum.
The Clinton campaign apparently had no plans for the primaries following "Super Tuesday" since it was supposed to be a cakewalk and a coronation following that date. It took a while, but her campaign finally started to win primaries, especially in the larger states, but it was too late. She and her supporters had been too overconfident, and they paid the price — they lost.
As the apparent Democratic nominee, Obama did not seem to gain much headway against the Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain, as the campaigns moved towards September and their conventions.
The first two days of the Democratic convention did not seem to have much of a message and even some of outspoken Democrats, such as James Carville, were upset. Obama continued to lead by a couple of points, but this was the year that Democrats thought it would be a landslide win for the White House. According to their thinking, President Bush was hated by the majority of the people, the economy was weak and the Iraqi War was totally unpopular.
Since everything was so bad, they could expect to have a 60-seat majority in the Senate and an additional 20 or more seats in the House. This would be another huge gain for the Democrats much like their gains following Watergate and the resignation of President Nixon. "Happy days are here again."
McCain then announced that his running mate would be Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. That choice took most people by surprise and many, to include the media, asked about her and her background. When she gave her acceptance speech, the delegates exploded with support. Since that time, the slim lead of the Democrats evaporated and the Republican side surged.
Now Obama is faced with the same dilemma faced by Clinton after "Super Tuesday." How could a little-known governor from a sparsely populated state possibly seize the initiative? I am sure that he now knows how Clinton felt, but unlike her, he has the mainstream media to support him. The second coronation has now become a challenge.
Much like Clinton and her staff, Obama and his staff are at a loss on how to deal with this latest challenge. As usual, the dirty tricks have surfaced. In fact, as of this week, the word is that 30 lawyers and investigators have been sent to Alaska to try to dig up any kind of dirt possible on this former mayor and current governor.
The left wing blogs are working overtime presenting lies that are repeated by the media. As of this date, they have all been refuted and shown to be nothing but lies.
This election is now in the final two months and has taken a dramatic turn that few, if any predicted. The conservative base on the Republican side has been energized. It sees a nominee who has a significant history of conservative values such as tax reduction, energy independence, pro-life and pro-Second Amendment to name a few.
There is a significant difference between the candidates of the two parties for the citizens to choose.

Donald J. Myers, a retired colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, is a regular columnist for Hernando Today. He lives in Spring Hill and can be contacted at DMyersUSMC@aol.com.

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