Has the Bloodbath Begun?

So Kay over at Kay’s Blue Racine shared her thoughts on the South Carolina Democratic presidential debate, and after reading her entry, I got to thinking about the direction of the Democratic presidential primaries. After the recent squabbling over race between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, it became obvious the race between the Democrats had taken a turn into negative territory, but what I didn’t expect – and maybe I’m just a little naive – is just how negative things would become.

As I watched the South Carolina debate, I couldn’t help but think that in attacking each other, Clinton and Obama were making things a heck of a lot easier for the eventual Republican presidential nominee, who with each passing day seems more and more likely to be John McCain. I know the Republican presidential field seems to still be pretty wide open, but in my opinion McCain seems to be the one candidate gaining the most momentum, and if he wins the Florida Republican primaries, I have to believe he becomes the obvious front runner and eventually the nominee for the Republican Party.

It’s long been a joke that the Democratic Party finds a way to lose elections that seemed to be in the bag, and I can’t help but think that now’s not the time for our Presidential candidates to form a circular firing squad and start taking each other out in hopes of becoming the nominee. No good can come from a nasty primary full of personal attacks and mudslinging, even in an election year that seems very favorable to whichever of the Democratic candidates ends up as the nominee.

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4 thoughts on “Has the Bloodbath Begun?

  1. I don’t know if your concerns are justified. After all, the Repubs are doing the same thing to each other as well. Romney attacks Huck. Huck attacks Romney. Rudy runs in circles in Florida screaming “9/11, 9/11.” McCain attacks everyone. Everyone attacks McCain.

    I also remember that McCain was ripped to shreds in 2000 by Bush’s brain, Karl Rove, with all sorts of slanderous and false allegations, but now he is one of the favorites.

    It would be nice if the Dems didn’t follow suit, but the Repubs, with Bush and Rove, have set the bar pretty low.

  2. capper, I see your point, but the point I was trying to make – and obviously wasn’t very clear about – is that the Democrats don’t look to have a nominee any time soon, so this negativity is bound to continue, while on the Republican side I can see things starting to crystallize shortly after the Florida primaries. If Rudy G. doesn’t win in Florida, I can’t imagine his campaign remaining viable, and if McCain pulls out a win in Florida, I see him having a fairly easy path to the Republican nomination.

  3. Oh, I understood, but I don’t think the sniping on the Repub’s side of things will be done that soon.

    Besides, I think both Clinton and Obama are too shrewd to keep up the attacks on each other, but will go back after Bush, and the Repub nominee, if there is one.

    A lot of the attention is being given to the Clinton/Obama feud to take the heat off of the disarray that the Repubs are in.

  4. I think there are several sorts of voters. Ones who have become completely desensitized to these campaign boxing matches and just tune it out as business as usual. Ones who are appalled, but will vote anyway for who they think has the best platform. Ones who it works on, even if it’s on a subliminal level….and I think there are a whole lot of these still around. Tons of us who watch it as if we should be in charge of the campaign(s)–I’m guilty of this.
    Mostly, though, I think people raise their eye brows take a few gasps and watch to see that certain lines aren’t crossed. Lines they have personally drawn. Like neither candidate would ever question the parenting skills or family values of each other because almost all voters are parents.
    Meanwhile, I want to add that I really think McCain picked up SC so handedly because they (voters) felt so guilty over how they fell for the line crossing shit from Bush last time around with McCain.
    Also, see how much more focus is on Clinton/Obama compared to any of the repubs! What I do love is that I’ve seen more and more right wingers online eating their own candidates! I never go that route in primaries cause you never know who you’re going to have to end up phone banking for in Nov.
    sorry for the long comment-I’ve just got so much to say! 😉

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