Two of my most favourite Canadian columnists are Dan Gardner of the Ottawa Citizen and Margaret Wente of the Globe and Mail. They are among the most analytical minds who should be read in all journalism schools. Their comments about U.S. presidential race are extremely interesting.
Dan Gardner touches the heart of the soap opera taking place in the Republican National Convention (RNC) when he writes: "John McCain's story is as good as they come, full of courage and accomplishment, but it's also more human than the saccharine confection fed to the family value crowd Thursday night. Republicans would not, one assumes, have gone misty-eyed at the heart-warming tale of a married 42-year-old who leaves his first wife -- a woman who stuck by him through his five years as a prisoner of war -- for a 24-year-old beauty queen. And so in the tale told at the convention, the first wife was dropped down the Orwellian memory hole and in her place, the audience was told the charming story of how, when John met Cindy, John told Cindy he was younger than he was and Cindy fibbed about being older."
In this make-believe world of the RNC, everyone lives in a world of fairy tale. As Margaret Wente wrote in the Globe: "It took Sarah Palin to turn the dull old Republican convention into an amazing show. Finally, someone who might beat Barack Obama in the ratings! Who cares about geriatric white men in suits? But who wouldn't tune in to see a scrappy dame sock it to the elites? You can keep your degrees from Harvard, your snooty New York Times and your non-fat soy latte... Sarah Palin eats mooseburgers for breakfast, and she will destroy you! ... Personally, I think we're witnessing the Republican Party in meltdown. The soap opera is sort of entertaining. But it makes American democracy look fundamentally unserious."
But there is hope. Polls show that Senator Barack Obama enjoys close to 90% of African-American support and a high percentage of Hispanic support. If this holds, Mr. Obama will need only about 30% of support of white voters to win in a landslide. This is also within his reach as he enjoys massive support among young whites. On the other hand, his Republican rival, Senator John McCain's support coming almost exclusively from middle-aged whites who support him by a wide margin. However, Mr. Obama has galvanized black, Hispanic and young white voters who are likely to turn out in record numbers to hand him a landslide victory come November. Sarah Palin can go back to shooting moose for breakfast.