Why Chase The Center When You Can Rendezvous with It?

Democrats hoping to win elections this fall by racing to the center should sit down and have a conversation with Buzz Aldrin.

The second man to set foot on the moon on Apollo 11 is also one of NASA's leading authorities on the subject of rendezvous in space. This was a key element to completing the task of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth, and also a prerequisite for assembling and docking with the International Space Station.

Buzz, by the way, was a super geek on this subject. According to fellow moon dweller Alan Bean, he was not the kind of guy you wanted to hang with at a party. While you may have been interested in the hottie across the room, all he wanted to talk about was rendezvous. But Aldrin's obsession was a virtue that transcended the image of the party-going, jet-setting astronaut of the 60's. Rendezvous was everything because it was the only way that NASA could land men on the moon and get them home by the end of the decade, as JFK had challenged. The moment when that challenge was finally met was one that changed the world forever.

So lets' geek out for a moment. In order to rendezvous with another craft in space, you can't just fly directly to it, not in zero gravity. That will exhaust all of your fuel and you won't be able to get home. What you have to do is determine the direction your target is going and the height of its orbit. Then you launch your craft in the same direction, but at a slightly higher orbit to allow the target to catch up (or a lower orbit to catch up to the target). Then, through a series of very small and precise maneuvers, using less propellant, you intercept the target and fly alongside it at a speed of around 20,000 mph. Then you link up. Mission accomplished. But it must be done exactly right or the mission fails.

So what does this have to do with winning elections? To win an election decisively, you need to capture the center vote, but if you race straight to it you run the risk of losing your base. But what if you rendezvoused with it? Let's say you're Barack Obama. Your campaign is fueled by your political capital, which you have lots of having won the primary. But you risk exhausting most of this capital by moving as quickly as possible to the center. This is an especially big risk now because BushCo has managed to move the center so far to the right. But after seven years of disaster, scandal and general embarrassment, the center is now beginning to shift back to the left at a moderate speed and a low orbit. The national movement that Obama has created has launched his campaign to a higher altitude than the conventional wisdom of the swinging center. So what he needs to do is remain at this altitude, stay on message, keep making sense and let the center catch up with him. As it draws nearer, a series of subtle but sincere overtures to the center and the right will put both forces on the same course at the same speed and altitude.

Then you dock with them. At that point, history is made and the world is changed. Then you head home and land safely on the porch of the White House.

Comments

[S1m0n]

..Which was exactly what Obama did with regard to the war. It was patently obvious in 2001 that there was no future in a democrat chasing Bush for the war keeners, even if it was a popular war at the time. All the available turf was in getting ahead of the public--who were certain to sour on the war, given that it was just as certain to end up as a morass--and waiting until the public caught up.

No was way the US public ever going to turn its back on the CinC as long as the war was popular; that's a dog with solid no hunting potential for a democrat.

[teacupsnpots]

who cares about what he says or does - just let him WIN!

[Gma11]

I simply don't see Obama as someone who ever was far left. I would not have supported him in the primaries if I had perceived him thusly.

I want a common-sense AND intelligent, idealistic AND practical leader for ALL the United States, not just the darkest blue segments.

[texanna]

This article is the bookend to the article explaining why moving to the center (wherever that is!) is not a good strategy because of how it is perceived by those you're trying to move to. I am too old to be swept off my feet by a pretty speech, so I was skeptical about Sen. O and his commitment to Change!. Of course, I would have much preferred to have my skepticism revealed to be unnecessary. That has not turned out to be the case, unfortunately. If he returns to the vision he presented during the primary, and does so with sincerity and authenticity, I think that the center he's seeking will find him. This country is desperate for someone to lead them out of the morass we're in, not just a little out, but all the way out.

[BADEN]

"So what he needs to do is remain at this altitude, stay on message, keep making sense and let the center catch up with him. As it draws nearer, a series of subtle but sincere overtures to the center and the right will put both forces on the same course at the same speed and altitude.

Then you dock with them. At that point, history is made and the world is changed. Then you head home and land safely on the porch of the White House. "

Well said. Hope the young man from Illinois can truly see the forest for the trees.