The name of the game is "WIN"

As a former philosophy teacher, I have always had a tendency to "reductionism." Reductionism is the effort to reduce seemingly complex phenomena to a simpler explanation. I am a Democrat, but I must say I admire the Republicans mastery of "political reductionism." While the Democrats struggle to explain EVERY issue from war to the price of bread, the Repubs try, and often succeed, in reducing an election to a word or phrase. Nothing fancy or complicated to be sure.

In 2000, with relative world peace and a good economy, the Democrats, with Al Gore, waged a "deep intellectual debate", or tried to, on global interconnections with its myriad implications. The Republicans stuck with "Who would you rather have a beer with.". Pefect. Gore, even to his strong supporters, such as myself, did seem a bit----well, pompous, and pedantic. Yes , Gore won the popular vote but that's not the way we do it. We should, but we don't.

2004. John Kerry, an "intellectual giant", compared to Bush, was easy pickins' for the reductionists Republicans. Wind sailing, 'French ' tendencies, and, most important flip-flopping--I voted for the bill before I voted against it . Three strikes and you're out. Kerry strikes out. Add a fourth strike: Kerry's wife actual name: Teresa Simoes-Ferriera Heinz-Kerry. There's no fourth strike, but you get the point.

Now 2008. Obama trying to have a "deep" position on everything. From stay home African-American dads to 'I can make the Europeans love us again.' Good stuff. Maybe. And the Republicans: Obama, you blitthering idiot, you said the "surge" wouldn't work, but it did. Don't give us that complicated 'excuse' about the 'sunni awakening' being a real cause of reduced violence. The 'Sunni awakening' is a term my polling shows understood by about one per cent of American voters up to last week. And the press loves it, liberal as they might be. The "surge". We all know what that is. The "sunni awakening"; some kind of middle eastern religious revival?

Now, I'm not saying who's right. I'm just talking politics. Those Republicans sure know how to play---change that to know how to win.