I’m not sure that the “bandwagon” effect is such a bad thing. In some ways I think it is the basis for a democratic republic.

In America with 300million people, 100million voters aren’t going to make an informed decision. Why? Lazy, apathetic, stupid, and our press is a poor source of information. So folks stampede (wildebeast stick together, gazelles run with gazelles) based on biases and vote. Maybe this is why we still use the electoral college.

Once a candidate is in office they are shaped more by the issues at hand than any campaign position. I’ll venture a guess that 80% of their actions are reactionary and 20% is proactive. Given that they operate with information unavailable to the general public, and that our media is like a clock with only a second hand, the “here and now” activity is what drives our polls. High poll numbers often are the exact opposite of how history judges an administration.

I’ve concluded that GWB has done the heavy lifting. He has gained our security. Therefore I believe America can weather a very liberal, inexperienced President. So if Barack pulls it off and gets the stampede going his way, it won’t be a Jimmy Carter redux and it won’t be continuous Clinton scandal, it may not be much of anything – just one of those presidencies that doesn’t stand out.

So if the situation shapes the president much more than the president’s lofty ideas, maybe most of the time the “stampede” is correct. We don’t get Hilters very often do we?