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IT DIDN’T JUST have America talking, the US Presidential Election of 2008 captured the world’s attention.
The birth of the social media campaign, the possibility of the first black American president, the end of the Bush era and claims of media bias had us all hooked. Even celebrities made it their priority to engage in the conversation.
So, we had high expectations of result night parties this November but election fever is slow to move across the Atlantic. Here at TheJournal.ie, we’ve been examining why this might be the case. And we have a theory – the 2012 campaigns are missing some key components for mania:
#SARAH PALIN She was billed as the game changer…just no one was sure which way it was going to change. John McCain took a serious risk when naming his Vice President pick – relatively unknown Governor Sarah Palin, plucked from Alaskan obscurity. What turned into a nightmare for the McCain campaign, however, provided curious onlookers with one of the most phenomenal candidates in an American election. Despite endless gaffes, Katie Couric’s most famous interview, huge clothes allowances and confrontational speeches, the smartly-dressed, self-labelled Hockey Mom mustered up a massive fan base across the country. So big was her following that she retired from politics to become a television presenter and commentator.
At the VP pick announcement on 29 August 2008. (Image: Stephan Savoia/AP/Press Association Images)
She has given us so much…segue to:
#THE COMEDY FACTOR The nation’s expectations dragged comedian and Sarah Palin look-a-like Tina Fey back onto Saturday Night Live once McCain announced his VP pick. And the punch lines just wrote themselves. Actually.
#THE VETERAN Neither of the candidates – nor their VP picks – has served in the US Army, an unusual scenario in a US Presidential Election. In fact, it hasn’t happened in 80 years. That is before World War II and the emergence of America as a global superpower.
In 2008, much was made of Obama’s lack of military service compared with John McCain who was a decorated war hero. And the photos of him arriving home after being held as a prisoner for more than five years were circulated in the months ahead of the vote.
Then Lt. Cdr. John S. McCain III, a prisoner of war for more than five five years, waves to well wishers after arriving at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida in this 18 March 1973 file photo. At left is his wife, and son Doug, who is on crutches after breaking his leg in a soccer game. (Image: AP/Press Association Images)
McCain Field, the US Navy training base, was commissioned and named in honour of Admiral John McCain in 1961 in Meridian, Mississippi. Standing before his plaque from left, grandson, Lt. John S. McCain III and his parents, Rear Admiral John S. McCain Jr. and Roberta Wright McCain. (AP Photo)
John McCain in a Hanoi hospital as a prisoner of war in the fall of in this 1967 black-and-white file photo. McCain spent 20 years in the Navy, a quarter of it as a POW after his jet was shot down during a bombing mission Oct. 26, 1967. Alone among the major presidential candidates, McCain’s post-grad work was in the Navy in a time of war. (Image: AP/Press Association Images)
#ODD RACISM Barack Obama made history in January 2009 by being the first ever black president of the United States of America. A nation that battled slavery and, more recently, segregation was being asked to vote in a democratic, African American. The appetite for change was startling and it ate away much of the race commentary that could have overshadowed the campaigns. However, there were still telling stories to be heard across the country. One sticks out in the memory as it was first told by reliable polling site FiveThirtyEight and reiterated in Vanity Fair before being published as an anecdote in various other magazines and websites.
So a canvasser goes to a woman’s door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she’s planning to vote for. She isn’t sure, has to ask her husband who she’s voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, “We’re votin’ for the n***er!”Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: “We’re voting for the n***er.”
#JOE THE PLUMBER The 2012 election is yet to bring us a break out star in the same league as Joe the Plumber (real name: Sam Wurzelbacher) who shot to fame after taking on Obama while on the campaign trail. The candidate’s response to his questions on small business tax policies were used by John McCain to paint his rival as a socialist who wanted to redistribute wealth, something not popular with conservative Republicans.
Democratic presidential candidate, Senat0r Barack Obama, answers a question from plumber Joe Wurzelbacher in Holland, Ohio on 12 October 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Although we’re missing him from this year’s presidential campaign, Wurzelbacher hasn’t gone away just yet. He took his 15-minutes of fame, extended it by becoming a conservative activist and author, and now he wants to be a Congressman. Not content with being a side story, Joe filed papers in October 2011 to enter the race and, in March this year, he claimed the Republican nomination. He will face Democrat Marcy Kaptur in the November elections.
#OVER-ENTHUSED STUDENTS Remember Obamaism and Obamamania?
Students at Howard University celebrate on hearing that President-elect Barack Obama won the presidential election, in Washington Tuesday 4 November 2008. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
They gripped American campuses back in 2008 but have been absent over the past two months. It was hard to find a young Democrat who didn’t want to intern for the campaign, or at least give up one Saturday to join a fundraising drive in the local community centre. Last month, Associated Press reporter Martha Irvine wrote, “What a difference four years can make.
In 2008, college campuses were filled with campaign posters and political rallies — and frenzy. Remember “Obamamania?” This year, it’s difficult to find a college student who’s truly excited about the presidential race.
#CHANGE Four years ago, Americans were promised change. If they voted Barack Obama, they were getting a first timer. Inexperienced, yes, but people were jaded of the old politics anyway so what did it matter if he didn’t know how things worked on the Hill? They were going to operate differently from now on anyway, right?
This time around, voters are being offered Obama again – something that Romney’s campaign has reiterated over and over. “Do you want a repeat of the last four years?” is the message from his people who have been honing in on the poor economic climate. Or Romney – who some see as a sign of a return to the old-boys-club version of politics in that he is a wealthy and connected millionaire.
#DANA Because every presidential election should have all kinds of everything.
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Bulgaria has one of the lowest vaccine uptakes in Europe. Only 28% of the population vaccinated with an extremely high case fatality rate in comparison to Ireland. Their population is only a little bigger than Ireland, and despite having lower reported case numbers – they are at upwards of 100 deaths per day.
So anyone questioning whether vaccines work, here’s your answer.
@Seán Ó Briain: They have amongst Europe’s highest death toll per head of population, with 30,530 official COVID-19 deaths and 60,140 excess deaths. They have a population only a little bigger than us, 6.9 million, that’s like us having 22,000 COVID-19 deaths and 43,000 excess deaths.
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/coronavirus-excess-deaths-tracker
@Colin Conlan: “However Bulgaria’s number of cases in past six months was half of Ireland’s”
Their “reported” cases.
Aren’t your kind always harping on about “only deaths matter, not cases”?
Well for a population similar to Ireland’s, they’ve had over 5 times the amount of deaths as us.
@Colin Conlan: That is misinformation of course, they had 12,017 COVID-19 deaths in the last 6 months, 778 deaths in January (564 deaths if they were same population of Ireland, but we announced 123 deaths). Their deaths in Jan were 5.6-fold ours.
https://www.google.com/search?channel=crow5&client=firefox-b-d&q=covid+bulgaria
@David Jordan: Please pay closer attention to my comment. I referred to *cases* not *deaths*.
Around 1st of July 2021 they had 422k total cases. Now they have about 800k cases.
Ireland had around 1st of July 2021 272k total cases. Now it reached 1mil.
@Colin Conlan: Are the testing as much as us?
@Colin Conlan: Also, one other thing, do you honestly think that Bulgarians equally enthusiastic about getting COVID tested as us, given their very high rates of vaccine scepticism and anti-everything?
@David Jordan: Yes, they are testing as much as Ireland. However! The correct question is: Are people there going to be tested? I could not answer that with data. But I have my suspicion that answer is no. So I will double their case numbers. They have about 50% rural population.
In that case the number of positives are same as Ireland. Which makes sense. And still vaccines does not seem to have an impact on protecting others.
Something else interesting. The Delta wave took much less time. Just over a month. Ireland is dragging Delta since Sept until now into Omicron.
@Colin Conlan: And to continue on the aspect that Delta wave took much less in Bulgaria. Number of deaths presented here as argument were per unit of time at peak. Since the Delta wave spanned on different lengths of time between Bulgaria and Ireland it is interesting to calculate the amount of deaths per wave rather than per time unit at peak.
@Colin Conlan: Delta was dragged out because vaccines were reducing infection rates, it reduced infections by 50 – 80% (Qatar data), but you are right, Omicron is transparent to vaccines.
At this point, now Omicron is dominant, Vaccines prevent serious symptoms and save lives but they no longer prevent infections getting passed on. That is why we are riddled, but have very few deaths (Omicron is also intrinsically milder).
So I agree you, at this point, vaccination no longer protects others, that benefit is no longer there e.g. if I’m vaccinated and visit an unvaccinated Bulgarian relative, I could infect them. Thankfully Omicron is mild (we’re very lucky, it could have gotten worse).
That said, Omicron arrived in Bulgaria only 2 weeks ago, this you can see from the huge spike they had since the new year.
Hopefully it will quickly displaces Delta and reduces deaths.
@Colin Conlan: Also, look at Gibraltar and COVID:
https://www.google.com/search?channel=crow5&client=firefox-b-d&q=gibratar+covid
100% fully vaccinated, 81% got boosters, but they are riddled with Omicron. But the important thing, no more deaths.
@David Jordan: Is not clear what argument you have there. Delta wave finished clearly in Bulgaria before Omicron arrived. There’s nothing to “displace” there.
https://ig.ft.com/coronavirus-chart/?areas=irl&areas=bgr&areasRegional=usny&areasRegional=usvt&areasRegional=usnd&areasRegional=usky&areasRegional=usfl&areasRegional=usmi&cumulative=0&logScale=0&per100K=1&startDate=2020-08-01&values=cases
On 28th of Dec before Omicron rocketed number of cases, Bulgaria had 17.6/100k a day. Something that Ireland didn’t have since July.
@Colin Conlan: Yes, 2 weeks ago Omicron arrived. We’re not disagreeing here, deaths are falling despite rapidly rising cases, Omicron is milder and it likely heralds the end of the Pandemic. I’m not arguing with you.
I think if things don’t change, I mean if a worse variant does not show up, by next winter, I think it would be best if Omicron specific vaccines, possibly combined with the flu vaccine, are recommended for >65s, like the flu vaccine is today.
@Seán Ó Briain: have you shares in the vaccine or what? It’s their choice if they want to take it or not
Why is the title of this article misleading?
Protesters are anti-restrictions not anti-vaccine!
@Colin Conlan: False. They are anti everything. Anti-mask, anti-restrictions and anti-vaccine – despite having barely no one vaccinated and their hospitals full of covid patients with 100+ people dying every day there, despite their population being able the same as the island of Ireland.
Nothing misleading about the article.
@Seán Ó Briain: To protest anti-vaccine exceeds individual level. To protest against vaccine mandates does not exceed individual level. No one there protests that *other* citizens of Bulgaria should not be vaccinated.
Conclusion: they are not “anti-vaxxers” but anti restriction on personal level.
@Colin Conlan: They aren’t protesters either but rioters, once you turn violent you are no longer protesting, just look at the BLM riots.
Deep suspicion of anything coming from the Bulgarian government is a legacy of the soviet era, as well as the population’s sorry experience of government corruption since that time.
@John Mulligan: Agreed. I knew a Czech citizen whose conditioning was to distrust anything the Irish government, or any government said, but who would immediately accept any medical conspiracy theory they came across on YouTube, without doing any checking into the background of the YouTube speaker or channel, or anything they said. And their brother was a surgeon in the Czech Republic!!!! They didn’t put the same kind of faith in what their brother told them.
@David A. Murray: misinformation and suspicion is a major problem in Eastern Europe. Anti everything and pro nothing apart from conspiracy theory’s. Obviously not all of them but a large chunk of them. Victim complex across the whole region.
Bulgaria is a country many Irish people only know from going there for packaged summer holidays on chartered Balkan Airlines flights. Groups of schoolchildren and adults in winter also flew to the country for cheap ski holidays. Some of the country’s red wines have been found to be tasty and cheap. Before the early 1990s it was very much a conforming member of the Soviet bloc. What sort of regime rules there nowadays?
@Garreth Byrne: Since you are asking, there was 3 elections in 2021, and only after the last one there was a wide enough coalition to form a government. Basically, everybody who was against GERB, a populist party that ruled for 10 years, joined that coalition. GERB’s leader Boiko Borisov is a bit like Berlusconi, I think. No discernible policies apart from to make him and his chums rich.
Nuke em…
have your say