Though some in the press are covering for him, his announcement is the earliest of any modern president. It continues a trend that began in 1972. That was when Senator McGovern captured the Democratic presidential nomination, though he lost in the autumn of that year in a squeaker. Richard Nixon stole the election, 47,167,319 to 29,168,509. Tricky Dick got 60.7% of the vote, the largest in history except for Lyndon Johnson’s 61.1%.
Using what came to be called the McGovern reforms in the 1972 Democratic Convention, the very same Mr. McGovern captured the nomination....Thus did the Reagan Democrats begin to crystallize. And thus began the trend, the era of the chronic campaigner. Since 1972 the Democratic Party has nominated a chronic campaigner every time....
Mr. Obama has been running for president since his first day in the Senate. All through his presidency he has been running for reelection. His filing the other day was a mere formality. The problem with the chronic campaigner is that, though he is a swell candidate, he is a lousy chief executive. He cannot sit still, as in an office. My guess is that Mr. Obama has spent less time in the White House than his predecessor. Now he will be on the campaign trail full time.
So maybe Congressman Paul Ryan will run the country....
A man can dream...
And although the McGovern of our time, Barack Obama, got the nomination and the win this time, the Reagan Democrats have re-formed, either as independents or full-throated members of the Tea Party.
One would hope Obama get a similar, Nixon-esque, beat-down in 2012....