10-06-2011, 02:19 PM
The liberal "base" of the Democratic party has been disappointed in a great many things Obama has done and failed to do. An unenthused base would be a big problem for Obama in the next election.
Even though Romney has been in almost full bore pander mode with the Tea Party "base" of the Republican party, it seems evident that they are not at all enthused about him as being the party's nominee. So, it appears that if Romney is nominated, he will likely also have a problem with his base.
Of course, exactly what constitutes a party's "base" is very fuzzy, but it really does seem that there are a large core of activists in each party that tend toward certain views on things.
If all of the above is basically correct, and if we assume that Romney and Obama will be the nominees from the their parties for the presidency, then who do you think will have a bigger problem with their base? Or do you think that problems with their bases will just be a wash (with each having about an equal amount of base enthusiasm problem)?
I think problems with the base enthusiasm will be a problem for both Obama and Romney and that those problems will tend to be about equal. I imagine both of them (assuming they are the nominees) are goint to have conniption fits trying to spark enthusiasm in their bases while also trying to appeal to independents. That's always been a challenge for presidential candidates, but I think it will be an especially acute problem for those two guys next year (assuming they are the nominees).
Even though Romney has been in almost full bore pander mode with the Tea Party "base" of the Republican party, it seems evident that they are not at all enthused about him as being the party's nominee. So, it appears that if Romney is nominated, he will likely also have a problem with his base.
Of course, exactly what constitutes a party's "base" is very fuzzy, but it really does seem that there are a large core of activists in each party that tend toward certain views on things.
If all of the above is basically correct, and if we assume that Romney and Obama will be the nominees from the their parties for the presidency, then who do you think will have a bigger problem with their base? Or do you think that problems with their bases will just be a wash (with each having about an equal amount of base enthusiasm problem)?
I think problems with the base enthusiasm will be a problem for both Obama and Romney and that those problems will tend to be about equal. I imagine both of them (assuming they are the nominees) are goint to have conniption fits trying to spark enthusiasm in their bases while also trying to appeal to independents. That's always been a challenge for presidential candidates, but I think it will be an especially acute problem for those two guys next year (assuming they are the nominees).