U.S. Election "On Holiday"

The primary campaign got us used to action, even to spectacle. The interminable exit of Hillary Clinton itself created a suspense that surpassed political stakes and touched on human psychology. Before that, the passionate arguments from voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, the “double or nothing” of South Carolina and Pennsylvania, the surprises of Super Tuesday (February 5th), showed that the energy of American democracy feeds off of the stage setting: the more passionate, the more people take part in the process.

In comparison, the last few weeks of the campaign have seemed really dull. Barack Obama is trying to adjust his program to a larger public than the traditional Democratic base, which has resulted in wheezy exposés in which each step outside the box has to be justified and explained at length. The journalists accompanying him find him weary, or get lost in the meandering of his positions. John McCain is also following a sleepy rhythm, reshuffling his team without seeming to get totally in order. He still hasn’t found a clear message, and Politico underlined with irony that he is resting almost every weekend, with only four months to go.

These four months could be really long if the spectacle continues to be “on holiday.” Since the declarations of candidacy in early 2007, eighteen months have passed. Not one day without some public manifestation, declaration, or error making it into newspapers and TV. Despite the candidates’ efforts to renew themselves and deepen their programs, we get the impression that we have heard each of their speeches a hundred times. Can lassitude become a factor in the most open election in 80 years?

THE CONVENTIONS

Happily, summer brings diversion. Barack Obama is getting ready to travel to the Middle East and Europe on an “information tour,” which promises to arouse passion around his actions and could also carry electoral risks.

In Iraq and Afghanistan, he will be trying to prove his presidential stature and credibility. In Berlin, Paris, and London, he will expose himself to an excess of fervor that could have negative repercussions among American voters. One only needs to remember the split on the two sides of the Atlantic over John Kerry in 2004. It is not clear that the idea of an Obama speech at the Brandenburg Gate can survive this peril. Why would the man who was reproached for the presumptuousness of appearing before an imitation of the Presidential Seal try to be John F. Kennedy even before being elected?

These summer travels will only be hors d’oeuvres. The main course will be the party conventions, August 25 to 28 in Denver, and then September 1 through 4 in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The Democrats expect 50,000 people in Colorado’s capital, and 75,000 the following night when Obama accepts the nomination. Already, the event is stirring up a frenzy of commentary: on the place reserved for Hillary Clinton, for George Bush, on the cost of operations, and even on the color of the food that will be served. The spectacle, once again, is guaranteed. As the Americans say, we can’t wait.