Electoral Tribes

Joel Kotkin, writing for The Daily Beast, talks about how this election is being pursued in a "tribal" fashion by Team Obama. Kotkin makes the point that the president is pitching his campaign to specific groups or "tribes" who may be persuaded to vote for him: single women, gays, minority voters, and youth.

Kotkin compares the Obama election strategy to that of Bush in 2004:

Like Obama, Bush was a polarizing president of meager accomplishments and modest popularity. And like Bush, Obama is hoping to rally his base and demonize his opponent to achieve a fairly comfortable reelection. 

Finally, Kotkin quotes what Obama said in 2007, criticizing the very same "tribal" strategy he's now using:

Maybe you eke out a victory of 50 plus one. [But] you can't govern. 

Apparently, being president is good, even if "you can't govern." Presidents get the best tee times and Air Force One sure beats flying commercial.