DivideD We Stand

The 2008 Democratic Primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton lasted for months and months. While the Republicans had a relatively short contest that resulted in the veteran candidate receiving the nod, the Democrats decided to wait until almost the last possible moment to choose the nominee: just two months before the convention in August. This long process has certainly only hurt the party in their hopes of winning the general election in November.
The long primary race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton polarized the party by making citizens strongly endorse a candidate in a race that does not matter as much as the real election. Both Obama and Clinton signs still fly on cars and lawns in states that have already voted, and many Americans remain undecided about who they would vote for in November. This indecision is relatively ridiculous compared to the Republican Party’s strong support behind McCain. When it comes time to vote on November 4th, it’s very possible that Clinton supporters feel so disappointed about losing the primary election and disenfranchised from the party that they either do not go to the polls or even worse for the Democrats, vote for McCain. Moderate Democrats’ voting for McCain is an actual possibility and a real threat to their bid for the Presidency, especially in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio where Hillary won the primary and Obama is projected to win in November.
This long contest also hurts the Democratic Party because Obama wasted time and money to compete against a fellow democrat instead of using his resources against the real opponent: the Republican nominee. While Obama and Clinton traveled around the country to red states that won’t really be up-for-grabs in November like Georgia nitpicking each other’s platforms, McCain has been able to use the time to campaign in his bread-and-butter conservative states and the ever-crucial swing states like Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. This pressure free early campaigning in town hall meetings and diners by McCain could prove to be effective for the Republicans.
What is most unfortunate about the long primary election is that the Democrats should have the momentum going into November’s election. Due to both the takeover of Congress in 2006 and Bush’s recent atrocious approval ratings, it seems that the Democrats should be the favorite to win. However, the long primary season has made some of that momentum disappear due to the long race inside the party. It should be interesting to gauge how much of an impact this long primary will have on the general election.