Thursday, June 19, 2008

Obama's Coattails

The surest sign that primaries are really over is the surfacing of talk about how long and strong Barack Obama's coattails may be in carrying state and local candidates into office in November.

In the Washington Post, Chris Cillizza reports that even Alaska, that frozen tundra of Democratic hopes, is looking good, with polls showing Sen. Ted "Bridge to Nowhere" Stevens behind his challenger, and prospects looking up in deep red hot-weather states such as Louisiana and Mississippi.

"Rarely in politics is a narrow loss as good as a win," says Cillizza, "but if Obama can keep McCain from running up the score in these Republican-friendly states he may well do a world of good for the down-ballot candidates seeking Senate and House posts."

To start undoing the damage of the Bush years will take solid Democratic majorities in Congress to help the new man in the White House with something akin to the "Reagan Revolution" in 1980, which swept a dozen Democrats, including George McGovern, out of the Senate.

This could be a "Change" election in more ways than one.

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