The primary niceties, convention hoopla and vice presidential speculation aside, we have the presidential rematch that no one wants in November. Right?
Noted contrarian and Politico media critic Jack Shafer writes that we have exactly the rematch the voters want – and have telegraphed that choice in the primaries.
Doubts about the quality of the candidates, the public desire to see either one run yet again…that's just a press narrative that took root, blossomed early, and shows no signs of withering. That's distressing for a press corps that is continually looking for fresh angles in new stories:
“Trump will have been the nominee three times in a row now, and has been at the center of all politics for almost a decade, so the broad strokes of the Trump narrative strike a lot of casual voters as no longer novel, even if they hate him,” says one political reporter, granted anonymity to speak candidly. Similarly, after decades of vetting and scrutiny, there's little new to learn about Biden. And while Trump continues to find new ways to transgress, we now know him in his fullness. Until February, reporters kept their spirits alive by scouting for signs that Biden would step down or for a Trump challenger to gain speed. It's no wonder that reporters aren't as excited by this campaign as they were, say, by the 2008 battle between the “maverick” John McCain and a political phenomenon named Barack Obama.”
While politics doesn't exist for the amusement of reporters, and candidates, despite their inclinations to the contrary, are not reality show contestants. So yes: voters have demonstrated they want these two very well known, thoroughly understood retreads to run one more time.
But just as misreading (or failing to fully study) polling as Shafer charges, let's be clear that the folks who've made it clear they want Biden and Trump Vol. 2 are primary voters – to a large extent, motivated partisans who go to the polls because that's what they do. Studies have repeatedly shown that most eligible voters don't show up for primaries.
That means the small minority of eligible voters who do show up are keen on a Biden-Trump rematch. That's not exactly a popular groundswell of opinion – and most certainly not enough to fully douse the narrative that most voters aren't eager to see Biden and Trump one more time.
And so on. The plain fact is that the rematch is on (barring unforeseen events) and irrespective of whether the majority of voters want it, the minority who showed up in the primaries (so far) have made the decision for everyone else.
Buckle up. It's going to be a very rough eight months.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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