Hate Fatigue

Here's a noteworthy entrant into the "Sondergeld echo syndrome" hall of fame:

"What accounts for President George W. Bush's recent and durable rise in the polls?...I believe I have stumbled upon one underpinning phenomenon driving this trend. I call it 'Hate Fatigue.'

"The theory is this: the Democrats wasted their hate for George W. Bush on movies, books, blogs, meet-ups, commission hearings, and protests over the last three years and they have just about run out of steam. And now that the election is upon us, their potent venom has run dry. Some have just given up."

I said basically the same thing back in late spring/early summer. Bushophobia reminded me of Big Labor's "Mediscare" campaign against congressional Republicans in 1995-96. The latter started early on in that election cycle, fueled by passionate hatred of Newt Gingrich, but didn't have the stamina to steam clear to November of 1996. It peaked in late spring/early summer of that year and began to recede. Enough residue was left to enable Bill Clinton to hijack it for his own re-election purposes, and the Dems did pick up nine House seats, but GOP control of Congress survived.

Bushophobia had even more hatred fueling it, but it had twice the expanse of time to span. After the barrage that was thrown at the President last spring (Paul O'Neill, Dick Clarke, the 9/11 commission star chamber, Abu Ghraib, Fahrenheit 911), he was still standing, and in retrospect it looked like the end of a fireworks show, where they shoot off all they have left for the audience to ooh and ah at. By summer's end, their candidate was sinking and their wheezing frustration had devolved to the rock bottom of writing books and plays about GDub's assassination.

That fatigue, and despair, was lifted somewhat by last night's debate, which should tell you how deep Dems' demoralization had become. But even conceding their belief that Senator Kerry won the encounter, that is roughly analogous to a football team down a touchdown in the fourth quarter approaching the two minute warning completing a twenty-yard out pattern against a prevent defense. The point of a prevent defense is to trade yardage for clock, making the trailing team eat up game time while keeping them off the scoreboard. Afterwards the winning team's defensive stats are less impressive, but they still have won the game.

In the same way, Kerry came out of Coral Gables on top in terms of style and eloquence, but according to post-debate polling, it didn't gain him any ground in the "horserace." He advanced the ball to near midfield, but he still has a long way to go to get into the end zone, and he hasn't any time-outs.

This is not to say that a "prevent defense" is the best strategy for the President to employ - I'd rather see a Buddy Ryan 46 defense sending maximum blitzes on at least every other play, personally. But when it becomes clear over this weekend that Kerry's alleged victory in debate #1 was pyrrhic, that brief hit of "relief" for the Bushophobes will shift over to "the next debate will finish Bush," even though last night, by their candidate's own selected issue emphasis for the homestretch, was the "game" he had to use to break through and get back in the race.

One wonders, if hate truly is like an addictive drug, how the left will survive the withdrawal pains after November 2nd.

Actually, one doesn't wonder - they'll simply get hooked on the last "drug" they did before Bushophobia: Hillarymania.

But at least the country will be safe for another four years.