There’s a phrase that seems much in vogue with political commentators currently; “suck up all the oxygen”, and its almost always preceded by these two names; Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The metaphor sort of implies that Clinton and Obama are “heavy breathers”, but the actually term used to describe them is usually “heavyweights.” The operative theory is that these two supposed political Goliaths will now so dominate the Democratic political terrain between now and the 2008 nominating convention that the resources needed to sustain political life for any other potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidates will be perilously lacking. Perhaps John Edwards can also eke out some sort of meager existence, this theory goes, but everyone else will be sucking wind.
My first reaction to this new political truism is to say that the people peddling it are spending too much time looking at themselves in the mirror. They seem so personally taken with the myth of the two Goliaths that they barely find time or space to talk about anyone else, hence it ends up they are reporting on themselves. While I actually believe some of that is going on, I know there is more to it than just that. If nothing else a Presidential candidacy does needs a lot of money and media attention in order to survive, and right now it seems most of that is being directed toward the big two, or at most big three possible Democratic candidates now dominating the news landscape.
So as readers of my blog already know, I did a little research on the history of frontrunners for the Democratic nomination for President, and blogged about it in “Looks Like Big Trouble Ahead for Clinton and Obama.” If you haven’t already read it, perhaps you should. Suffice it to say here that the Davids of the Democratic Party have regularly been besting our Goliaths over the last 50 or so years. Those facts are easy to research, but it does little to dampen the conviction of the “oxygen in the room” crowd that this time everything is different, and this time the shape of the final race is all but predestined, because Goliaths have cornered all the oxygen.
I agree with one part of that theory, there is something different about politics this Presidential cycle from previous spins around the electoral block, and one need look no further than Time Magazine’s 2006 “Person of the Year" to see exactly what has changed. It’s us; which includes me, but really it is “You”. I know I am dating myself with this, but who else remembers the old Readers Digest Series of articles that always began with “I am Joe’s…” and ended with some body part; all those catchy titles like; “I am Joe’s Heart, I am Joe’s Brain, and I am Joe’s Liver? Well we can all go back to forgetting about Joe and I, because the phrase that sticks in my mind right now is “You are Wes Clark’s Lungs”. In 2007, “You” will be the one who delivers the oxygen that lets Wes Clark run for President.
What I am saying here doesn’t apply to any other current “second or third tier” candidates (with the possible exception of Dennis Kucinich). Tom Vilsack, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, and Christopher Dodd; for now these men are all on their own. They’ll just have to butt heads with Hillary and outshine Barack, because none of those four are currently “netroots candidates”. Wes Clark however is.
It’s interesting to observe the bipolar relationship that the media and political establishment has had with the netroots over the last three years. We were discovered with Howard Dean and lionized for several months, and then dropped like a hot potato with Dean’s collapse in Iowa. We were rediscovered when Ned Lamont defeated Joe Lieberman in Connecticut’s Democratic Primary, and then dumped again when Lieberman pulled ahead in the polls running as an Independent in the General Election. Hardly anyone ever credits us now for the early work we did with Jim Webb in Virginia.
No, conventional wisdom has swung back into thinking the netroots are over hyped and overrated. The beltway is full of itself once again, never for a moment questioning the lavish pundit attention that once was showered on Mark Warner and even more so now is draped over Barack Obama. The beltway has a new theory; it’s Oxygen in the Room. Seems there wasn’t enough Oxygen for Mark Warner and Evan Bayh after all, what with Clinton and Obama sucking such deep breaths. And maybe, just maybe, the conventional wisdom would have been right this year, after traditionally being wrong for so many decades before, if “You” hadn’t come along when “You” did.
What confuses the beltway, in their manic state of mind, is this. The netroots never were all powerful nor are they now powerless. In a “what’s hot and what’s not” frame of reference, everything must be one or the other. It really is the media’s bi-polar disorder, and it helps explain most of their wild mood swings. And once you are swinging around wildly you often miss the point. So, for their sake, I’ll make it as simple as I can. The netroots can bring our candidate to the Prom, though we can’t drive him or her home alone. Wes Clark will show up for the Primaries, looking pretty good when he walks through the door.
So let’s take another look at the field. Hillary is the homecoming Queen, she’ll have no trouble making it to the Prom, and Barack has been crowned the new Male counterpart, whatever it is they call that. So if Obama wants to go, no one will stop him from showing up either. John Edwards was a starter on last year’s runner up for the championship football team. He got the press, he has a Varsity letter; he’ll get himself into the Prom also. Someone will pay for all three of their limos, someone will pay for their fancy clothes too, and they should all be able to line up a rich date if that’s what they think they need. But I know who is taking Wes Clark to the Primary Prom; Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. That’s “You”.
Part Two will discuss exactly how “You” will get him there.
