That neither party comes up smelling like roses in the scheme of things then is a long-standing reality brought into much sharper relief by this election. There are still for example many unanswered questions about the degree to which both parties played fast and loose with fundamental democratic principles and electoral legalities, about which there was relativity little reporting about in the MSM.
In the aftermath, many will rightly question not only Hillary Clinton's suitability as the party's nominee; courtesy of the revelations about the manner in which the DNC primary campaign was conducted, they will also be able to question her political legitimacy as the nominee and, especially, the integrity and credibility of the party machine mindset that plotted her ascension. Indeed, that should be a prerequisite going forward for party reform.
Yet if the Republicans think Trump's win -- whilst retaining control of both the House and Senate -- redeems them and their party in the eyes of voters or the citizenry in general, one expects they will be sorely disappointed as we move forward. And this is only partly attributable to the fact Trump was not their preferred choice of candidate; indeed, he was rejected by many, a point we should never forget.
The seeds of discontent ushering in Trump then may have been planted some time back, but the current GOP fraternity and their forbears cleared the ground. Whether in opposition or the White House, the GOP also have been diligent in tending the neoliberal garden. His campaign rhetoric aside, it remains to be seen how much of an enthusiast Trump will be for more of the same.
-- Obama Bets the Farm (Skin in the Game) --
There can be little doubt the election outcome reflected considerable dissatisfaction with Obama. Because he had so much skin in the game (his legacy for one thing), the president personally has to cop much of the rap for the rise of Trump (or even someone like him). The corollary to this is the president also accepting responsibility for the defeat of his own party when there was an obvious alternative in Bernie Sanders, someone who from the off clearly tapped into much of the prevailing sentiment in working- and middle-class America Trump did.
After noting that Clinton's and the Democrats' loss wasn't a defeat by default, Walden Bello says in an article titled "How Obama's Legacy Lost the Elections for Hillary" that instead of jobs and relief, Obama offered only half-measures to folks we call here in Australia "battlers", in this case especially struggling people in the Rust Belt and beyond, the broad demographic that delivered victory for Trump.
'O n the economic issues that motivate these voters, Trump had a message: The economic recovery was a mirage, people were hurt by the Democrats' policies, and they had more pain to look forward to should the Democrats retain control of the White House.'
There was a telling report emanating from Obama's European visit that gave us an insight into the incumbent president's preoccupation with Trump and what -- in his mind at least -- to make of his victory. Quite apart from hinting at something of a personal struggle coming to terms with it, the president seemed also at pains defending his legacy from an all out Trump onslaught next year. 'Americans chose Donald Trump ...because of a vague "change" desire', the president said, all the while insisting that voters 'don't always know what they're looking for'...[And, he added] they may opt for change,
'... even if they're not entirely confident what that change will bring.' The president reportedly went further, saying [he], 'could have precluded Trump's populist uprising if only the Republican Congress hadn't blocked so many of his economic proposals'.
Although it appeared to escape him when he made these remarks, the irony of the first part of Obama's comments should not be lost on anyone else, given the considerable gap between the amount of vague change he promised and actual change he delivered (or for many, failed or declined to deliver).
In short, this can and does apply to Obama himself. To the extent voters 'don't always know what they're looking for', we might now at least argue they are less equivocal about what sort of change they don't want and aren't looking for! And the subtext here might have been: Did they know exactly what they were looking for when they voted him into office, twice?
As for Obama's not unreasonable comments about GOP obstructionism throughout his term of office (a reprehensible tactic on their part that notwithstanding their recent electoral success and now dominance of the Beltway, has come at great and possibly permanent cost to the party's brand), we might ponder an alternative question for the incumbent:
Could Obama have "precluded" Trump's rise by ponying up on a few more of his core promises, spending his political capital more wisely and fairly, more dutifully avoiding the errors of judgment, arrogance and political shenanigans of his much-reviled predecessor, and showing Main Street America in general and America's "battlers" in particular he was the real McCoy after all, a president truly in their corner and not just another Wall Street political front-man cum errand boy?
We can't answer that question of course with absolute confidence, suffice to say the 'answer' is destined to become an enticing, enduring counterfactual. But there can be little doubt Trump's appeal and subsequent success was driven by the lost promise -- actual or perceived -- of the Obama years, and the president must be acutely aware of this. In truth Number 44 has no-one else to blame if Trump dismantles all or even part of his legacy.
With a backward nod then to the earlier horse-racing motif, the president backed the wrong 'nag' -- even betting the farm -- when in Bernie Sanders he, the DNC and the party faithful had an eminently electable alternative to the "Queen of Chaos". Given the way the DNC campaign was conducted -- their own appalling shenanigans showcased in all their 'ugly glory' courtesy of the Podesta email 'reveals' -- that, we can now safely say, was never going to happen.
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