Friday, October 29, 2004

Shifting the Vote

Last night on ABC News, one of the talking heads following Bush around said that the President was making appeals to Democrats to cross over and vote for him. At the time, it only made my wife and I laugh. But this morning it gave me hope.

Such an appeal means that Bush is worried that his base will not be enough to carry him, it means that he's worried about the Republican internal polling numbers. It could also mean something very good for John Kerry.

I cannot imagine that more than a few Democrats are so anti-Kerry or so enamored with our empty (flight)suit president that they would be willing to go through four more years of BushCo. It boggles the imagination to even contemplate it. In other words, for every Zell Miller there are 100,000... well... me's.

On the other hand, besides the far right christian fundamentalists and the high-powered, high-contributing business leaders, there are many traditionally Republican constituencies that have plenty of reasons to either vote Kerry or not vote at all in protest. Think of those Republicans who are true fiscal conservatives; or of those sportsmen for whom the environment is important. Think of the Arab-Americans who voted for Bush in 2000 by a large majority. I'm sure you can think of plenty of others.

Both candidates are making appeals to the other side of the aisle. Only one, I think, has any chance of getting anyone to cross over.

No comments: