Kevin Kelton

Longing for the magic fix

bush-fix-it-AP

by Kevin Kelton

One of the reasons I think I have pretty good political sensibilities is that I actually listen and pay attention to details. So when Jeb Bush comes out with a new campaign slogan, “Jeb can fix it,” I take some time to consider why his campaign team would hinge it’s entire reboot — indeed, his entire campaign — on the words “fix it.”

It’s obvious they must have focus tested it to heaven and back. So what does that tell us? It tells us that their research indicates that voters are yearning for someone to “fix” what they perceive as a broken system…with lots of broken components. Whereas in 2000 voters were looking for decency and respectability (after the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal) and in 2008 they were looking for hope and change (after being disappointed with decency and respectability), now they are looking for an easy fix… one that can be embodied in one man. Just vote for him and your problems will begin to get fixed.

I think that explains the psychology of both parties’  races this year. Fifty-five percent of GOP voters are leaning toward an “outsider” whom they hope can make the magic fix (Trump, Carson or Fiorina), and 25-30% of the Democratic voters are looking for the same thing in Bernie Sanders. On the flip side, people who support Clinton, Rubio, O’Malley, Kasich, Bush, and a few of the other GOPers are looking for competency. They don’t expect a president to “fix” the system; they just want someone who can effectively manage an imperfect system and maybe get it back on course.

I think the general election will come down to this clash: voters that are wishing for a magic fix, and those that are content with a steady hand to manage the unwieldy ship of state. I fall into the latter category. I think we will prevail.

But I feel bad for the fix-it group. They will forever be longing for something that probably doesn’t exist, and hence forever bitter about their inability to make it real.

Episode 7: Third Republican Debate Postmortem

Segments:

Third GOP Debate

Jeb Bush campaign

Ben Carson’s dietary supplement pills

Syria and boots on the ground

School Resource Officers in high school classrooms

The state of the races

The Debate Bernie Sanders Already Won

by Kevin Kelton

Next Tuesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Democrats will hold their first debate of the 2016 presidential primary season. But it’s already clear that the winner will be Bernie Sanders. Before a word is even spoken.

Though all five candidates on stage (or six if Joe Biden jumps in the race) will acquit themselves well and present fairly similar liberal positions, it is inevitable that the post-debate media spin will crown Sanders the victor.

Yup, Bernie won. Take it to the bank. If you’re in Las Vegas, put all your chips on the socialist. How can I state that with such certainty a week before the debate happens? Here’s how: Read More

While Joe Mulls, Dems Should Move On

By Kevin Kelton

Democrats all like Joe Biden. We know he is a smart and loyal vice president, a solid progressive, and we mourn for the painful loss of his son. But he’s not going to be the next President of the United States. So why consider nominating him?

Do you know how many vice presidents have gone from the vice presidency to be elected directly to the presidency? Four. It last happened for George H. W. Bush in 1988. You know the last time it happened before that? Martin Van Buren in 1836. That’s right, it’s only happened twice in the last 180 years.

That doesn’t mean it can never happen again. It surely will. But not in 2016 for Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. (a guy with a middle name almost as bad as Hussein). Read More

Polls don’t tell the true story

by Kevin Kelton

You’ve heard of college basketball’s March Madness? This year’s presidential primary campaign should be called Polling Madness.

In the course of just three weeks, the media has reported that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is 11 points ahead of Bernie Sanders in Iowa, one point behind Sanders10 points behind Sanders, and 21 points ahead of the Vermont Senator.

Read More

Beware of Political Witch Doctors

by Kevin Kelton

I’m beginning to think there is a mass hysteria spreading across America – a real, delusional mass hysteria – about wanting a rebel candidate who will “fix” things in Washington.  The appeal of outsider, “tear-it-all-down” candidates like Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Carly Fiorina, Ben Carson, and Elizabeth Warren is on a par with the hysteria over witches in early Puritan America.  But instead of exorcising the devil out of a woman’s body, voters in both parties now want to exorcise corporate money and phoniness out of the body politic.  And they’re turning to political witch doctors for a cure.

Read More