We are living through a historic moment as we speak. For the first time in American history some of the most key decisions about who our Presidential candidates will be are taking place during the year end holiday season. For the first time in more than 50 years neither party has a sitting President or Vice President as its nominee. And, this election coming up will follow the first election cycle in at least 70 years in which the Republican Party achieved total dominance of the White House, both Houses of Congress and the Supreme Court; as such it becomes a referendum on what they did having gained that clout. It’s an enormously volatile political year for many reasons. And, it can change the course of history.
Pollsters have long known that the holiday season creates interesting and upredictable changes in public opinion. Why? Because all over our country people are coming together at family events, various holiday parties, talking amongst each other in ways that do not happen at any other time of the year. In many cases we wind up talking at length to folks we may only talk to openly during the holiday season.
It is well known that the most effective political tactic is face to face individual contact with voters. People are becoming increasingly jaded to the barrage of phone calls, television ads, direct mail, e-mails and all the rest of the staples of political campaigns. But they are not jaded to what their friends, families and neighbors think.
So this holiday season, talk politics. Violate the rules of polite society which hold that politics and religion are topics to be avoided. Do it gently, respectfully, don’t be angry, belittling or demeaning. But be proud and confident about what you believe.
Over the next eight days we will have an opportunity to move public opinion in a way that has never been possible before. Let's use it.
Any thoughts on where public opinion will be on January 2? To me, that is an interesting mystery. We could wind up looking at the narrow contest for the center (Clinton vs. McCain) or a sharply divided ideological donnybrook (Huckabee vs. Edwards) and all the possible permutations in between. But in any event, what happens in the next 10 days may change the course of history. Take the dive.
Comments?