James Carville You Are Not

As usual, Michael and I were listening to NPR's Morning Edition on the way to work. They were doing a story about Bill Clinton campaigning for Hillary, acting like it was some big deal. Duh! The big deal would be if he wasn't campaigning for her. Spouses always campaign for their candidate spouses. This is not news. But I get it-- anything that features Bill Clinton in a clip gets attention. I don't blame you. Hell, as far as I'm concerned you can devote half the show to Bill Clinton. Fine by me. And fine by a lot of people I suspect. Bill Clinton's approval ratings have skyrocketed since he left office, which is why I found the next part of the NPR segment puzzling if not outright ridiculous. The host was getting comments from Donna Brazile, head of Al Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign, on the Hillary Clinton campaign. She said that (I'm paraphrasing) there is a downside to having Bill Clinton campaigning for Hillary because it makes people think of the past, and people vote based on the future, not the past.
I have long believe that Donna Brazile has the political instincts of toast, and this morning she confirmed my suspicion. People don't vote based on the past? Where have you been? At least half of the time, people are voting against something, rather than for it. That's called voting based on the past. It is an ages-old ploy of politicians to get people thinking about a former, better, simpler time-- the implication being that the politician in question will bring back those former, better, simpler times. That's called voting based on the past. I'm not advocating it, just pointing out that it happens and the strategy is effective. Donna Brazile, I encourage you to watch the last fifteen minutes of The American President. Listen carefully to Michael Douglas's speech. I believe this might help you to more clearly understand why people vote based on the past. Another suggestion that I have for you is to go rub up against James Carville, or maybe just ride in an elevator with him and hope breathing the same air as him might help you improve your game. If, as it seems, you are going to continue to be considered a strategist for the Democratic Party, you really do need to work on those instincts. In 2000, you advised Al Gore to distance himself from Bill Clinton. That was a fatal mistake in that campaign, and now it appears you are saying that Hillary should follow the same strategy that I believe cost your man the Presidency. Will you never learn?
Here's the link to the American President speech. Enjoy.