tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post3406719792136282306..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Petraeus/IkeJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-90623923024568599712009-10-15T13:29:39.467-05:002009-10-15T13:29:39.467-05:00That's a fair point. The question then would ...That's a fair point. The question then would be whether Americans have five times less patience for 2009's version of socialism versus 1933(-1952)'s. I'm with you on this one: 2012 likely won't be the year for the GOP to go for a nonpartisan type. Much will depend on the elite level consensus early on regarding whether the GOP opts for purism or focusing on someone who can beat Obama. Ideally, from the Republican perspective, there's a perfect overlap there. In reality, though, I think it is an either/or proposition.Josh Putnamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06301836432446874997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-83503329248159162282009-10-14T15:07:50.565-05:002009-10-14T15:07:50.565-05:00I don't know...is it true that Ike won because...I don't know...is it true that Ike won because people cared about foreign policy? I don't think so; I think he won because people were ready to vote against the Dems, and Ike was a safe, nonpartisan way to vote for the other party. <br /><br />The former condition, of course, could hold. But the latter is a problem -- it's hard to picture anyone surviving the current Republican nomination process while remaining a safe, above-the-fray, nonpartisan figure. That's not to say that Petraeus can't win, but only that he wouldn't win by defying conservatives to get the nomination.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-26482953552107002742009-10-14T13:08:20.984-05:002009-10-14T13:08:20.984-05:00I think Yglesias is on the right track by pointing...I think Yglesias is on the right track by pointing out Afghanistan and Iraq, but that argument suffers from being a bit too focused. The main thing that would help a Petraeus candidacy in 2012 would be for foreign policy issues of any nature to supplant domestic issues (esp. the economy) as the biggest issue. And it would take quite a flare up abroad to accomplish that. <br /><br />In the absence of that shift, though, what are Petraeus' chops on domestic issues? Do we have any evidence of his feelings one way or the other on a wide range of issues. That's certainly a fixable, but I just don't see it in the cards for the general given the current (and admittedly early) 2012 trajectory.Josh Putnamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06301836432446874997noreply@blogger.com