Sunday, May 29, 2005
All politics is local
From a NewsMax "Insider Report":
The real reason Voinovich is angry was a series of TV ads played by a conservative group in Ohio criticizing the Senator for not backing Bolton early.
Bolton and the White House had nothing to do with the ads. But insiders say Voinovich was so ticked off by the local pressure he vowed to get Bolton.
I don't find this very convincing. First, Voinovich is no starry-eyed kid, he's a political veteran of almost thirty years' experience. He's been around enough not to take things like that personally. Second, Voinovich is no dummy, and isn't likely to go off half-cocked. He would have known who was behind the ads (and there were some spots that ran in Ohio) and would not have "vowed to get Bolton" because of the actions of third parties.
I think the much more likely explanation is that Voinovich probably does in fact find Bolton's personal style distasteful - Voinovich is himself very low-key and always appears rather laid-back, preferring to settle differences out of public view. More importantly, I think Voinovich is positioning for a possible run as a centrist in 2008, and if he can point to OHIO - likely to again be one of a dwindling number of states in play - as overwhelmingly behind him, that goes a long way to establish electability. I think the most likely explanation for his grandstanding on the Bolton nomination is that Voinovich is playing to the hardcore and sizeable, fairly moderate, Democrat constituency in Ohio to drive up his approval numbers.
Note: the link here is to the NewsMax main page; the "Insider Report" is by subscription only, so I wasn't sure about the propriety of linking directly to that report.
The real reason Voinovich is angry was a series of TV ads played by a conservative group in Ohio criticizing the Senator for not backing Bolton early.
Bolton and the White House had nothing to do with the ads. But insiders say Voinovich was so ticked off by the local pressure he vowed to get Bolton.
I don't find this very convincing. First, Voinovich is no starry-eyed kid, he's a political veteran of almost thirty years' experience. He's been around enough not to take things like that personally. Second, Voinovich is no dummy, and isn't likely to go off half-cocked. He would have known who was behind the ads (and there were some spots that ran in Ohio) and would not have "vowed to get Bolton" because of the actions of third parties.
I think the much more likely explanation is that Voinovich probably does in fact find Bolton's personal style distasteful - Voinovich is himself very low-key and always appears rather laid-back, preferring to settle differences out of public view. More importantly, I think Voinovich is positioning for a possible run as a centrist in 2008, and if he can point to OHIO - likely to again be one of a dwindling number of states in play - as overwhelmingly behind him, that goes a long way to establish electability. I think the most likely explanation for his grandstanding on the Bolton nomination is that Voinovich is playing to the hardcore and sizeable, fairly moderate, Democrat constituency in Ohio to drive up his approval numbers.
Note: the link here is to the NewsMax main page; the "Insider Report" is by subscription only, so I wasn't sure about the propriety of linking directly to that report.
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