Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney


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March 22, 2010

Just Like 2008

First Read points out the striking comparisons between the long health-care debate and the long Democratic nomination fight of 2008.

"Both were extended due to the opposition's political victories (Scott Brown's win vs. Hillary's wins in OH and PA). Both resulted in tough news cycles for Obama (the narrative about his disappointing first year in office vs. the Wright/'bitter'/'why has he been unable to seal the deal?' stories). Both saw a lot of overheated rhetoric (the Tea Party protests vs. the PUMA ones). And on both, Obama was ultimately victorious due to the math (the Dems' congressional majorities vs. the delegate count) and due to his perseverance to simply outlast his opponents. Ultimately, the long Democratic nomination made Obama a stronger general election candidate because it forced him to focus more on the economy, it gave him additional opportunities for one-on-one debates, and it ended up putting IN and NC in play. And that long fight also gave him the confidence that eventually he can wear down his opposition."

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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