The Inner Chamber

Political analyst Mark Halperin blew in last week like a cool breeze, leaving bi-partisanship behind and providing a very balanced look at the last 50 days of the presidential campaign.  It probably helped some that he was fresh from his recent EMMY win for the HBO movie based on the New York Times best selling book, Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, Palin and McCain, and the Race of a Lifetime, that he co-authored. It may also be helped by the fact that this was his third visit to Louisville, so he is well beyond stranger status.  Further, he pointed out that he feels it is his obligation to be non-partisan as well as work to know the country and not just see the New York and DC points of view.  Halperin is also editor-at-large and senior political analyst for TIME, creator and author of TIME.com’s “The Page,” and senior political analyst for MSNBC.  You can see why he would like to get out and about to get the pulse of the country.

Serving as keynote speaker for the GLI 2012 Legislative Dinner, Halperin spoke before a crowd of nearly 400 that included many local, state and national elected officials including Congressman John Yarmouth, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and a number of state representatives, including the Jefferson County Delegation Leadership, and Louisville Metro Council members. 

For the run-up to the November 6th presidential election, Halperin paints very disparate portraits of the two candidates. “Never have we had such a clear choice,” he said. “There is nothing uniform about the trajectory these two guys are on.”

Asking for a show of hands, he proved (at least in this group) that Obama has lost the confidence of the business community by seeming to understand little to nothing about how the markets work.  He also added that the coalition of diverse groups that put the president in office doesn’t exist anymore.  Even so, Halperin pointed out, the president has an incredible “floor of support” that continues to maintain for him a respectable approval rating that never goes below the high 40’s. That “floor of support”, along with Obama’s “tremendous political skill,” has allowed the president to score points in his dealings with the auto industry, financial industry and health care reform. “Problem is,” said Halperin, “you have to make the case and Obama has not been able to do that beyond his base.”  

Moving on to Romney, Halperin described him as an “unlikely nominee that is out of step with the traditional Republican Party.”  “Based on his recent list of mistakes, people are saying Romney can’t win. He can still win,” said Halperin, “but he needs to stop chasing the president’s gaffes and tell his own story.” Noting that there is little time to turn things around, Halperin suggested that Romney spend the time trying to get people to get to know the “real guy.” “He’s personable, interesting, successful, funny and charming,” said Halperin. “He needs to use the debates to show people what he is really like.”

Even with all of the negative campaigning and “gotcha” nature of the process, Halperin finds plenty of room for optimism. First, he cites the fact that we have two very serious and committed candidates who are in the race for “all of the right reasons” and who both believe they can work successfully with the other party. He is also energized by the fact that the parties agree on the problems our country is facing, including tax reform, reducing the deficit and health care. “You can’t govern from extremes,” he said. “Challenges can’t be solved in a partisan way.  Agreeing on what we need to focus on is a start.”

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