| As Media Matters pointed out, Brent Bozell is a little confused over whether Obama is a socialist or a Reaganite Conservative.
Socialist (From the October 27 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends):
BOZELL: This is the arrogance, I think, of the Obama campaign, but it's a well-placed arrogance in the sense that they've gone through this entire campaign without being questioned seriously by anyone except for this news network, the Fox News network, which is why they studiously avoid the Fox News network. But when you go through the entirety of the campaign saying the kind of things that you're saying in the debates, where on, for every question, you've got a redistribution of wealth answer, where you've got socialism, where you've got the government controlling every aspect of life. You don't expect a reporter to ask you, "Is this socialism?" Because the media don't ask that question. Well, some uppity reporter did -- and look what happened, they cancelled her. And, by the way, she won't be going to the ball, either.
Reaganite Conservative (From the November 7 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom):
BOZELL: There's a lot of work that needs to be done. But here's the key thing, Bill, that really isn't being reported: Anyone who looks at the exit polls this year will find two fascinating results. Number one, this country remains every bit as center-right as it's been for a generation. And number two --
HEMMER: You don't think that's changed -- you don' think that's changed at all?
BOZELL: No, it hasn't. Look at the exit polling. The number one issue was the economy, nothing came close. The American people are fiscally conservative, and the fascinating thing, Bill, is that Barack Obama ran as a Reaganite and won over the fiscal -- the public as a fiscal conservative. That's what the polling data shows.
HEMMER: You said there were two things. What was number two?
BOZELL: Well, number one is that the public is conservative; number two, Barack Obama won as a conservative. That means that Barack Obama does not have the mandate to enact the left-wing agenda he wants to enact. He didn't run on it, he ran from it. So, this is not necessarily bad news for conservatives.
But what happens if we just ignore the confusion, and go with #2? What does a Reaganite Conservative look like these days? |
First, the election. To restate the obvious: People elected the more liberal candidate and increased the congressional majorities of the more liberal party--in both houses. Doesn't sound too conservative to me.
Number one, this country remains every bit as center-right as it's been for a generation.
Well, it's true that the center-left popular vote in the 2000 election (Gore plus Nader) was similar to where we are today (51.1% in 2000, 52.6% in 2008). But in 2000, Bush didn't lose Florida by so much he couldn't steal it, and he didn't lose North Carolina, Virginia and Nebraska-CD2 at all.
Nor did Democrats hold an 80-seat majority in the House for a generation. Winning the House vote by 7.2%.
But, if that's what a center-right nation looks like.... Well, let's roll with it.
Second, the exit polls. Bozell is 100% correct that the economy was the number one issue. Fully 63% of the people said so in the exit polls, and of them, 53% voted for Obama, compared to 44% for McCain. Another 9% cited health care--a more specific economic concern, and those voters went for Obama by a much wider margin--73/26%. But does this mean "The American people are fiscally conservative"?
Well, 75% said the country was on the wrong track, and they voted for Obama 62/36%. Just 20% said it was going in the right direction, and they voted for McCain 71/27%.
On the economy specifically, just 7% said it was "excellent" or "good", and those voters went for McCain, 72/26%. A whopping 93% said it was "not so good" or "poor", and they went for Obama, 54/44%.
Neither of those sound too conservative to me, considering that conservatives have been running things for virtually all of the last 8 years.
Furthermore, 51% said the government "Should Do More", and they voted for Obama 76/23%, while only 43% said government was "Doing Too Much", and they voted for McCain 71/27%. Again, that doesn't sound too conservative to me.
Lastly, did the exit polls show that people thought they were voting for a conservative? Well, not so much. 42% said that Obama was "too liberal", compared to just 4% who said he was "too conservative", while 50% said he was "about right". What's more, 3.7% of the voters thought he was "too liberal", but voted for him anyway. Just 2% of voters thought he was "too conservative" but voted for him anyway.
But, hey, if that's what a center-right nation looks like.... Well, let's roll with it.
Third and finally, let's look at another poll , this one from Celinda Lake, polling for the Change To Win labor federation. This was a poll of working Americans--non-supervisory workers to be exact.
SUMMARY
In the 2008 election, workers soundly rejected the Republican economic frame of deregulation and government inaction, choosing Barack Obama to be their next President. Workers believe he is the candidate least influenced by corporations and CEOs (of whom they blame for the current economic crisis). They believe he would do a better job of improving their personal economic situation, improving wages and conditions, and that he is the candidate that best represents the American Dream. - An astounding 84 percent of working Americans feel the economy is on the wrong track with only ten percent saying it is on the right track. Among younger workers the gap is even starker, with 87 percent who feel the economy in America is on the wrong track, and just seven percent feeling it is on the right track.
- This intensity carried over into working Americans' enthusiasm for voting in this election. Almost 7 in 10 working Americans (68%) felt more enthusiastic for voting in this election compared to elections past, fully 19 points higher from the fifth American Dream survey in September 2008. Only 12 percent felt less enthusiastic and just 18 percent felt the same. Among workers under 30, 71 percent felt more enthusiastic.
- For working Americans, the single most important issue in deciding their vote for President was the economy and jobs (72%), followed by health care and prescription drugs (26%), and the war in Iraq (23%). Likewise, 81 percent said the state of the economy and jobs itself would influence their vote for President either a lot or a little (58% a lot, 23% a little), with only 18 percent saying it would make no difference. The state of the economy and jobs influenced younger workers even more, with 84 percent reporting it would influence their vote for President (59% a lot, 25% a little).
- Barack Obama scored a decisive victory, winning working Americans 51 percent to John McCain's 39 percent, with 10 percent either not sure or voting for a third party candidate. Obama's victory was even more convincing among working Americans under 30, winning by 24 points, 58 percent to John McCain's 34 percent, with nine percent either unsure or voting for a third party candidate.
- American workers recognized the role Republican anti-government policies had in creating the current economic crisis, and now soundly reject these same policies, signaling the end of the Reagan era. Sixty-eight percent agree that we need to reform government to make it work for us, and that our government has to be part of the solution, while only 27 percent agree with the Republican frame of government is the problem and not the solution.
- A comfortable majority (56%) of American workers say the current economic crisis was actually the result of deregulation and a lack of corporate oversight that let greed run wild. They believe that we need more government oversight and enforcement to hold corporations accountable. Barely over a third (37%) believe too much government regulation interferes with the proper functioning of the free market, and that we need to let the free market function to create jobs to grow our economy. As a result, almost three-fourths of working Americans said it is extremely important to them personally that their candidate for President represents working people (73% rate 10 or "extremely important").
- Despite the economic crisis and the problems in government, American workers believe the American Dream is still obtainable. Only 19 percent believe they may not or will not be able to obtain the American Dream while a solid majority (73%) either have obtained it (15%) or believe that it is still obtainable (58%).
- The cornerstones of the American Dream in the eyes of workers remain having a job that pays enough to support a family (82% extremely important, 94% total important), being able to ensure children have the opportunity to succeed (79%, 92%), having a secure and dignified retirement (74%, 17%), and having affordable quality health care to depend on (73%, 17%).
- Working Americans feel most strongly that the best steps the President and Congress can take to make the American Dream more attainable are making sure employers keep their promises to employees with regard to pensions and health care (72% extremely effective, 87% total effective), followed by enacting health care reform to guarantee that every American has access to quality affordable health care (66%, 81% total), cracking down on oil speculators and price gouging at the pump (62%, 79% total), and ensuring equal opportunity and equal pay for women and minorities (61%, 79% total).
- Solid majorities believe it is Barack Obama over John McCain who has the best vision for restoring the American Dream (54% to 31%, and 64% to 23% for workers under 30) and who really represents the values of the American Dream (54% to 27% and 60% to 27% for workers under 30). Two-thirds of working Americans believe Obama can make a difference in helping people achieve the American Dream (43% a lot of difference, 23% a little).
- Similarly, working Americans perceive John McCain as the candidate who is most influenced by big corporations and CEOs (46% McCain, 23% Obama, 15% both influenced by corporations and CEOs). Among workers under 30, forty-nine percent perceive McCain as more influenced by corporations and CEOs, with just 17 percent for Obama.
So, in short, focusing solely on American workers, Lake found even stronger manifestations of all the trends shown in the exit polling--and more explicit rejections of the conservative, Republican, Reaganite worldview. And, she found that voters were enthusiastic--not disappointed that they didn't have a "real conservative" to vote for.
But, hey, if that's what a center-right nation looks like.... Well, I say let's roll with it! |
