Teddy White entitled a Chapter about the election of 1960 as all passion spent. When there was nothing more to do and you actually started to get some perspective.
Here is the single defining number of this election: In Florida YouGov asked if you seriously considered another candidate other than the one you are voting for:
89% said no
11& said yes
The polls are pretty tightly grouped around 4%. Obama won by 3.86%.
So at the end of the day a modern campaign isn’t about persuasion, it is about GOTV. Turnout.
You can question the number. How many never trump articles were written here. Country Club Republicans who would never vote for Trump.
Well they are. Trump is getting about the same % of GOP votes as Romney.
The result was arguably baked in when the GOP didn’t try to address Hispanic concerns and as a result sentenced themselves to Demographic oblivion.
Still I find it amazing.
It reminds of a rather depressing view of existentialism – the evolved human brain forced to contemplate the meaningless of existence.
So much passion. So much argument. Who is being persuaded? Who is listening?
Fewer, I think, then we would like to admit.
https://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/cumulus_uploads/document/vvlr48n70w/OH_Prelim_20161106.pdf