As a lifelong Pirates fan, I think I kind of understand what it must be like to be a post-George Bush Republican. While the Republicans four year electoral losing streak pales in comparison to the 16 (soon to be 17) straight losing seasons of the Pirates, there are similarities: incompetent leadership, the loss of casual fans and alienation of the die-hards, and, just when a promising new leader emerges with the potential to deliver victory, he either gets traded or heads off to “hike the Appalachain Trail.” Besides, I’m sure that, to Republicans, a few years under Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Obama seems like decades.
So I understand the desire to grasp for any sign of hope. Just as I get thrilled when the Pirates start a season 11-7 and start convincing myself that this is the year, that the team’s for real, so Republicans find themselves overjoyed that Obama’s approval ratings six months into his presidency are slipping and that polls show him tied with Mitt Romney and barely ahead of Sarah Palin. But there’s a lot of baseball left to be played. (The Pirates, by the way, are now 42-52). The 2010 midterms, and likely the 2012 presidential election as well, are going to determined by two things: the success of the stimulus, and health care reform. The former hasn’t really had a chance to operate yet, and the latter hasn’t even been brought to the floor in Congress. Until we have some sense of how Obama has delivered on those two issues, polls are essentially meaningless.
-AR
An apt comparison might be to Harold Stassen.
Go fuck yourself