Don't Get Cocky Kid

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Now that the Republicans are done congratulating themselves it's time to get back to business. It was a solid win, but there are plenty of reasons not to get cocky. My favorite is simply that if you screw up big, you're out. That's how democracy works.

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson took 44 states and 61% of the popular vote. The Democrats also ran the House and Senate. Some feared Republicans would become a third party. But within four years, Johnson was so unpopular he didn't even run for reelection and a Republican took the White House.

In 1972, Richard Nixon took 49 states and 60.5% of the popular vote. He didn't even finish out his term. By 1976, people were embarrassed to call themselves Republicans. Jimmy Carter took office and the Democrats--holding the Congress--looked poised to run things for a generation. But four years of Carter's management drove the public back into the arms of the Republicans.

No party owns the White House, no party owns the Congress. If either thinks so, time to think again.