Re(2): Dear Markus

I wish I knew where to find all those cool graphs. Then I might actually stand a chance in these arguments ;)

I think my concerns are best classified as "frustrations" rather than "panic," and upon further reflection I think they lie mostly in my third point.

I don't want Obama to win just by exciting and registering more liberal voters. Don't get me wrong: I think it's amazing that this election is breaking records and the Obama campaign is working so hard to register more people and get them involved; it's a great step forward for this country, and I'm proud to have joined them in registering voters this summer.

But it would be an even bigger step forward if that excitement came coupled with an overwhelming mandate from the center of the electorate for Obama and the Democrats. Maybe I'm too idealistic, but in my mind the Obama campaign in the primaries billed itself as capable of building a broad coalition across the political spectrum, and from the recent numbers I just don't see that happening.

Without that coalition, this movement is just a one-time thing. Republican Senators up for re-election in 2010 and beyond are not going to be scared into voting for health care or alternative energy if they know that the Democrats' win in 2008 came merely from the insurgence of marginal voters who were only inspired by one man and who are not likely to vote again.

We need to be convincing the center of the electorate that, on the major issues (the economy and health care especially) the Democrats are better. Certainly given the way the campaign has gone so far, we should be well on our way to doing that. My disappointment with the state of the race lies in the fact that as yet, we have not.

Maybe it's too early, and all of this will settle itself in the fall. But the only way to make true progress is to move the center of the country left, and I'll judge Obama's overall success on his ability to accomplish that.