Rich on the Road

Something happened Tuesday night in Mississippi that, potentially, has far wider ramifications than the ongoing Obama/Clinton soap opera.   The bottom line there is that Obama has the numbers and Clinton must soon admit the inevitable and drop out.

I must admit that I missed the bigger story until today when I started surfing some of the political blogs and news sites.  Another GOP seat was lost in Mississippi Tuesday night -- a seat that not long ago was considered a Republican lock.  Drudge and others claim Republican big wigs are shocked and dismayed at what it could mean for the party this fall.  Something has to be done, many of them are saying, to reverse course. 

This from Real Clear Politics:

In a major blow to national Republicans, a Mississippi congressional seat that once voted for President Bush by a twenty-five point margin elected a Democrat on Tuesday. Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers beat out Republican candidate Greg Davis, the mayor of Southaven, by a 54%-46% margin, a spread that several Republican strategists on Capitol Hill characterized as a startling wake-up call for a party in dire straits.

This from Financial Times:

"...the Democratic win in Mississippi on Tuesday delivered the third consecutive Republican congressional defeat in otherwise safe districts following a recent loss in Louisiana and in the Illinois district of Dennis Hastert, the former Republican speaker...
“Since 1980 I have not seen a terrain so tilted against one party as it is against the Republicans in 2008,” says Norman Ornstein, a political analyst at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

I suspect that there will be some real soul searching over the next couple of months as Republicans try to figure out how to change the momentum.  Democrats have been successful where they can tie their opponents to the White House.  Dick Cheney campaigned for the Republican in Mississippi and most think that was big mistake.  I'm not sure how big a role he played.  President Bush is very unpopular now but the disapproval numbers are just as bad for Congress as a whole.

The bottom line is that Republicans know they have to do something different than what they've done in these special elections.  Figuring out what ... that's the challenge.  We'll all be watching.

Rich