As Wisconsin’s recall results rumbled across the political landscape, paid Obama adviser David Axelrod fired off the most bizarre tweet of the night. He tweeted:
@DavidAxelrod: Bad night in Boston…WI raises big questions for Mitt. http://trib.in/KdZpQk
The link goes to a story about how the WI exit polls showed Obama bitterly clinging to a lead in Wisconsin.
But it’s a narrower lead, by about five points, than the margin Obama won Wisconsin by in 2008. And there’s no question that after last night, the momentum in Wisconsin is not with any Democrat.
There were questions raised by last night’s results, no question about that. One, what on earth were the Democrats and Big Labor thinking with this recall nonsense? Two, is traditionally blue Wisconsin now truly in play in November? Three, what does Obama’s decision to stay out of the recall say about his ticket strength? Four, just how divided are the Democrats after facing a humiliating pummelling? Five, is the recall result the beginning of the end of Big Labor’s political and financial power, and if it is, what does that mean for Democrat fundraising competitiveness going forward?
Lots of questions. Really none of them are worrying Mitt Romney or anyone on his team.
Ax’s tweet did the one thing he probably hoped to avoid all night: It drew a storm of ridicule down on him personally. Twitter hashtag #AxelrodTweets appeared shortly after his tweet, and conservatives tweeted things like “Man, that iceberg took a helluva blow from the Titanic tonight,” “Bad night in Washington, Robert E. Lee sent a powerful message to Lincoln at Appomattox,” “Bad night in London…Waterloo raises big questions for Wellington,” and “Jericho proves there’s a lot to be worried about in the Israelite camp.” #AxelrodTweets is still showing new tweets.
One of the first things you learn to avoid in politics is giving your opponents reason to ridicule you. David Axelrod, President Obama’s top campaign adviser, failed that test last night, spectacularly.
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