Reply #21: Traffic Circle reasoning. [View All]

[TahitiNut]

While I often eschew automobile analogies ...

When you turn the steering wheel LEFT, you're reacting to a perception of being too far right. That's FDR apres Hoover, JFK apres Eisenhower, Carter apres Nixon/Ford, and Clinton apres Bush -- all of whom ran with a 'vision' message. (Too far 'left' is often equated to head-on collisions with oncoming traffic. That's why 'vision' wins when steering left.)

When you turn the steering wheel RIGHT, you're reacting to a perception of being too far left. That's Eisenhower apres Truman, Reagan apres Carter, Nixon apres Johnson, and Bush apres Clinton -- all of whom ran with a 'moderate' (fog) message. (Too far 'right' often equates with parking. That's 'safe' in the fog.)

You avoid turning the wheel so far that you lose "control" or keep turning it after you think it's been turned enough. That's why Truman won. That's why Goldwater lost. That's why McGovern lost.

When you think you can't safely turn it far enough, you either panic and turn the wheel the wrong way or you take your hands off the wheel and brace for impact. That, I suspect, is why Bush may win. (It feels like the right wheels are off in the gravel and sand, doesn't it?)

It's the 'vision' thing -- or lack thereof (fog). :shrug:


On edit: Please note how the analogy interestingly extends to Japan and the UK -- where they drive on the left. Is it any wonder that there's a distinction between a 'Liberal' and an 'American Liberal'?
:silly: