2008 Is Not 1992
It seems to me that progressives are making a mistake in the way they are arguing for a progressive agenda for the Obama Administration. Specifically, the thesis seems to be that Bill Clinton made a mistake in projecting a moderate image after the 1994 electoral debacle. That his failure was in not delivering a progressive agenda. This seems like denial to me. Denial of what the American People wanted in that period. In short, America was not a progressive nation then. In denying that America is a Center Right nation NOW, it is not necessary to deny that America was a Center Right nation then. There are two important points to be made about this. First is a demographic one - the electorate is clearly and indisputably more progressive now. Why? Pretty simple, there are less white people in the electorate. In 1992, 88% of the electorate was white. In 2008, 74% of the electorate is white. People like to dance around the basic fact that non-whites are generally more progressive than whites (some important exceptions have been discussed at this site.) More . .
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