January 21, 2008

"If I can win California, I can win the country"



In the final season of The West Wing, Republican presidential candidate Senator Arnold Vinick, R-California, delivers an ode to the Gold State in the last hours of the campaign. He knows it's the key to his electoral vote strategy.

Paraphrasing, he describes it as the only state in America with small towns, big cities, sprawling suburbs, mountain ranges, deserts, green valleys, blacks, whites, Latinos, gay, straight, beaches, surfers...there is more real America, he concludes, in California than in any other state. "If I can win California, I can win the country."

The same can be said of Florida--except for the mountains--and I wouldn't be surprised if Rudy Giuliani sings a pretty song for the Sunshine State this week. Florida did win the country for President Bush in 2000, and groundwork laid now will pay off come November.

It's been done before--governors and senators losing themselves in the beauty of their state around election time. I recall Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner (D) describing the Old Dominion as a cross-section of America. I think he directly compared Norfolk harbor to San Diego then depicted the Shenandoah Mountains and everything in between.

2 comments:

Angelo Villagomez said...

What about Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Thunder Mountain Railroad?

How are ya' these days John?

Dos said...

As you can see from my blog I'm keeping myself busy these days in Tallahassee with an awesome project. It's a charmed life. ;)

I thought about working on the presidential race but now I'm glad I didn't.

I just hope I can get a lot done before going back to grad school.

Red Team Rules!