No matter what adjectives you attach to a name, the more you yell that name, the more power you give it. This is why Gore had no chance.
It sure seemed to come down to the wire almost twelve years ago, but in retrospect, it was a foregone conclusion. You remember Florida, right? All of the little things that added to Gore's loss? Pat Buchanan getting almost two thousand democratic votes due to the butterfly ballots, the hanging chads, the recounts? It was as if fate knew that all eyes were on Florida. Gore was going to win, but that was not in the cards.
The Revolt
What are those cards anyway? The cards are supposed to be a metaphor for ultimate luck... the draw of the hand. It's when no one knows what will happen next. Well, I agree that no one knows, but I can guarantee that it is also not luck. What turned the tide that day were the people. It was not necessarily what the people wanted, it was what they yelled loudest.
What happened in the 2000 election was that Bush was running as one of the most ignorant candidates on foreign policy and other key issues, as well as having strong ties to the profit-crazy, environmentally-disastrous oil industry, (and later ended up a term with what will go down in history as the worst presidential term ever*). This is not coming from a Democrat, just from an observer. Republicans knew it. They knew that Bush was messy, but also that he gave them their best chance.
And Gore? Sort of a stiff, don't you think? He had the environmental thing going, but for most voters it came across as a bit preachy and annoying. In short, he won the nomination, but he is not a ball of fire. He had to dig deep to scratch at whatever pieces of personality he found just in order to be palatable. So why did he get the votes he did? Gore's biggest vote was the anti-Bush vote. A lot of people hated Bush with a passion... a passion that ended up stabbing them in the back.
No One Cares What You Want
Things happen in the universe in a way that reflects, not complements. All of those Bush haters were yelling, but what was heard was just the main focus: Bush. As the law of attraction has it, whatever we put energy behind will propel forward. There is no reverse energy. We can't say, "We don't want something and therefore negate it.
What we direct our emotions towards gains momentum.
So slow down. Find something you love, and love it. Love it with all your heart. Believe in it. You can, in a calculated way, act against a person, a measure or a regime. But keep your emotions targeted at what you love.
November 2012
What we are facing with the upcoming election seems to be heading in the same direction; only the opposite party is going to benefit.
Romney? Are you kidding me? Who is that guy? He's a combination of a calculating financial whiz and soulless robot. We don't know what he stands for because he most likely stands for the opposite of everything he's forced to be saying. His aim is not to better America. His aim is not to elevate the people. He is no people-leader. Republicans hang on to him because, as it stands, he has the best chance. The best chance to beat Obama, that is.
Yes, as much as lefties hated Bush, conservatives can't stand Obama. Four years ago they all thought that having a basketball-dribbling man with a diverse background and terrorist name for president was something so heinous, it just would not happen. Just could not. But it did. They had four years to stew in muffled disgust, and now they have their chance.
It is my prediction that with all the Super PAC's money and out-raising the Dems by a wide margin, Obama will cross that line with more electorate votes to his name.
This election, the passion lies with him. Democrats love him with passion, Republicans hate him with passion, and Romney is, well, ho-hum.
*Correction: Changed to indicate that Bush was not running as incumbent in 2000. Commenter right to call me an Idiot for that...