Art Downs at Common Sense Political Thought puts the Obama-Clinton debacle in historical perspective.


The Apotheosis of Obama

April 21st, 2008 by Art Downs

There are often hints as the hype-mongers prepare to pull another fast one on the public. This is most often observed in the entertainment world as well as the mass-marketing of a product. Presidential candidates are usually the product of a seasoning process rather than the result of some ‘teaser’ type ad or catchy media blitz. Our campaigns have had their songs, images, and slogans but they were adornments rather than the basic product.

Our earliest presidential candidates were chosen by the respective party caucus and this seemed to leave the choice to the insiders. The ‘era of good feeling’ that followed the War of 1812 saw partisanship vanish on a National basis but the campaign of 1824 put an end to kinder and gentler politics when four contenders from the only National party fought it out in a contest where the first runner-up (John Quincy Adams) beat the Jackson and initiated four years of bitter complaining by the unselected candidate. The result was a party split and the birth of the Whig............Link