Elections

As I look back at the biggest primary in our nations history I notice something that has remained constant through our nations history. Trends are trends because they stand the test of time. If we look back to the 1976 Presidential Election we see the case of the dark horse candidate and the significance momentum plays in the victory of the underdog. Our underdog, in this election, is Jimmy Carter. With hardly any name recognition nationally, Jimmy Carter managed to pull off one of the greatest upsets in primary history. After winning New Hampshire handily, Jimmy Carter rode a wave of momentum to the Democratic nomination. This trend says a lot about the American people and the way in which they cast their vote. While John McCain is one of the most well known Republicans in our nation, he still was under the radar as the primaries drew closer. If we look back a few months ago I don't think there is any question that the two front runners were Giuliani and Romney coming into the New Hampshire primary. After McCain's big win in New Hampshire, though, Republicans saw a horse they could ride. By the time Super Tuesday came around many people had made their minds up and knew they would cast their vote for McCain because he was the man on top. This is the same story we saw in the playground growing up. Everyone had that kid during recess who never played kickball and just sat in the corner, wasn't the real social type, right? But there was that one day when Charlie was sick and your team was down a man. You looked around and everyone else was already playing. The only person who wasn't committed to a game was little Timmy sitting in the corner. You went over and coerced him into playing, promising to give him your Snack Pack at lunch the next day. After a few innings it was finally his turn up at the plate and your whole team could barely watch. You had to squint between your fingers because you were too afraid to witness the embarrassment that was about to take place. The shear humiliation you were about to have a hand in. But sure enough when Timmy's foot hit that ball you would've thought he was Babe Ruth. It flew over the fence and into the street, hitting a car for good measure. From then on Timmy was the first kid picked at recess. Americans still have that same mind set when it comes to voting. If the population sees a candidate who may have that "golden foot", who might be the one to take them to the promise land, they'll be anxious to jump on the bandwagon. In the case of John McCain, he got hot at just the right time. I equate it to the Giants run in the playoffs. The Republican Party is hoping that McCain is their Eli Manning and that he will be the one to lead them to a Super Bowl victory, or at least the White House.