beware the boston red sox.
If ever a lesson from sports carries over into the political arena, it's the lesson of the Boston Red Sox.
Here's a team that's always behind the 8-ball. They seemingly build a good nucleus and surround it with potent talent to finally unseat the big, bad New York Yankees. Then along come the playoffs and the Sox turn into The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.
Until this year.
The Red Sox pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in sports history to win the World Series; turning back 86 years of history.
So what does that have to do with politics?
Four years ago, the Democrats assembled a well-meaning team of do-gooders around Al Gore to win the White House. But when push came to shove, Gore and co. were outgunned, outmanned, and under-funded. In the end, they lost.
Fast forward to 2004. After a mid-term election in which the Democrats, once again, couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat, the Democrats seemed poised to march to defeat on Nov. 2nd.
Then along come three debates, pitting the president with the deepest of pockets against a senator from Massachusetts.
A knock-out punch delivered by Bush in the debates would've sent Kerry packing, no doubt. Instead, Kerry -- just like those Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 -- stared down elimination and fought back. And he fought, and fought, and fought.
While Kerry himself didn't land a knock-out punch, he did sting Dubya early and often. Kerry's performance evened out a race that was quickly running away from him. Kerry's once foundering and aimless campaign found new focus and is charging toward Nov. 2nd.
So who's going to win? Who knows. I'm honestly not even sure we'll know next Wednesday.
One of three things will happen:
1. Bush will win, pure and simple. He'll pull off another electoral college victory, only without the aid of the U.S. Supreme Court.
2. The pollsters will be left looking like morons when the "likely voter" turns out to be all those newly-registered and young voters who were unreachable and unrepresented in every poll, delivering a decisive victory for Kerry.
3. 2000 redux, only uglier.
I have a sinking fear that 3 is the most likely outcome. Florida is still a mess, and there are so many charges of voter tampering and voter fraud around the country that litigation is sure to follow.
The polls close about four and a half days from now.
Either way, this is Game 7. Can the Massachusetts senator pull off a comeback worthy of his hometown Boston Red Sox?
Here's a team that's always behind the 8-ball. They seemingly build a good nucleus and surround it with potent talent to finally unseat the big, bad New York Yankees. Then along come the playoffs and the Sox turn into The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight.
Until this year.
The Red Sox pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in sports history to win the World Series; turning back 86 years of history.
So what does that have to do with politics?
Four years ago, the Democrats assembled a well-meaning team of do-gooders around Al Gore to win the White House. But when push came to shove, Gore and co. were outgunned, outmanned, and under-funded. In the end, they lost.
Fast forward to 2004. After a mid-term election in which the Democrats, once again, couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat, the Democrats seemed poised to march to defeat on Nov. 2nd.
Then along come three debates, pitting the president with the deepest of pockets against a senator from Massachusetts.
A knock-out punch delivered by Bush in the debates would've sent Kerry packing, no doubt. Instead, Kerry -- just like those Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth of Game 4 -- stared down elimination and fought back. And he fought, and fought, and fought.
While Kerry himself didn't land a knock-out punch, he did sting Dubya early and often. Kerry's performance evened out a race that was quickly running away from him. Kerry's once foundering and aimless campaign found new focus and is charging toward Nov. 2nd.
So who's going to win? Who knows. I'm honestly not even sure we'll know next Wednesday.
One of three things will happen:
1. Bush will win, pure and simple. He'll pull off another electoral college victory, only without the aid of the U.S. Supreme Court.
2. The pollsters will be left looking like morons when the "likely voter" turns out to be all those newly-registered and young voters who were unreachable and unrepresented in every poll, delivering a decisive victory for Kerry.
3. 2000 redux, only uglier.
I have a sinking fear that 3 is the most likely outcome. Florida is still a mess, and there are so many charges of voter tampering and voter fraud around the country that litigation is sure to follow.
The polls close about four and a half days from now.
Either way, this is Game 7. Can the Massachusetts senator pull off a comeback worthy of his hometown Boston Red Sox?
