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Despite Gore getting a plurality in 2000, that election was one of 7 in a row (1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004) in which the Democratic presidential nominee got less than 50% of the popular vote. 2008 was the first time since 1964, and only the second time since 1944, that the Democratic nominee got more than 51% of the popular vote.

Important article by Michael Barone. Third Way is essentially a remaking of liberal / communist economic ideas of governmental ownership of means of production into a fascist economic model where outright ownership is replaced by total control.

It's more efficient economically since it keeps certain incentives to work and get ahead in society while reducing level of corruption inherent in communist societies, and allows government to find scapegoats and blame "the greedy" and "someone else" for the problems actually caused by the system, e.g. Goldman Sachs and "fat cats on Wall Street" for mortgage crisis and financial system meltdown, while keeping CRA regulations, ruinous expansion of fiscal and taxation policies and Fannie, Freddie and FHA safely out of people's minds.

Fannie and Freddie, before their recent de facto nationalizing, were perfect examples of Third Way being GSEs - operations that allowed for private ownership and profits for the politically connected elite class, while advancing government policy ("Home Ownership Society) where the losses were guaranteed by the society at large. Fannie, Freddie and FHA now own or control 9 out of 10 mortgages in U.S. And we see the same thing in GM takeover and attempt to effectively nationalize the health insurance and financial industries.

Blair and Clintons, along with Chretien and others, were in forefront of Third Way, with their New Democrats and New Labour spend-and-pretend policies designed to give government more and stronger control over industries and means of production and service. That's the task for Republicans to properly explain to people - when the government has total control over private endeavor and means to profit, people are no longer free, it's not a "free country" anymore..

One thing that shouldn't be overlooked is this: Clinton, Blair and the other "new labour" types took power in the 1990's. They had the luxury of riding the post-Cold War economic boom. They did nothing to bring it about, but in a huge historical irony, they became the political beneficiaries. In a sense, it didn't matter who was in charge in the '90's; they were almost destined to succeed in some way. The old commercial beer-dog, Spuds McKenzie, or Felix the Cat could have won re-election in the US in '96. Governments had yet to "run out of other people's money," as Lady Thatcher put it. If all you cared about was economics, governing was easy in the '90's. You just had to get out of the way. To go down as a success, you only had to stay out of trouble (which is why Clinton's impeachment is such a black mark against him--how can you screw up your presidency when it's almost impossible to fail?)

Of course, the worm was already in the apple. Even though there was real growth and innovation taking place (there almost always is somewhere), indebtedness was growing, the Enron/Global-Crossing scams were percolating beneath the surface, outsourcing was a growing problem. These problems were probably remediable, but no one in power had the foresight to act.

And that's not to mention little things like the growing threat of terrorism and al-Quaida, but that's a different subject.

"...it is surprising that the pundit class is not chiding Obama and Brown for abandoning the politically successful policies of Clinton and Blair. The same pundit class is always ready to chide American Republicans and British Conservatives for not pursuing the courses that Rockefeller Republicans and pre-Thatcher “wet” Conservatives pursued with some political success a much longer time ago. "

H'mmm. Barone is missing the point. The "pundit class" is not legitimate journalism. They were taken over by communist radicals from Columbia's school of journalism decades ago...and they naturally are happy cheering on Obama's de facto communism, and always have given cover to their concealed advocates. And the unconcealed ones, such as Ayers or Rev. Wright, get kid-glove treatment.

They are on the verge of outing themselves, such that the "center" Independents of the U.S. are finally waking up...and realizing that maybe Joseph McCarthy and the JBS were right all along.

... in 2000, the recidivist, treasonous, lying, looting, thieving, mass-murdering, co-serial-rapist, Cli’ton’s, designated successor, the poofter-ish and patently moronic second-generation traitor, Al-Fredo Gore-leone (and despite that he campaigned only ham-handedly) came out “ahead in the (Absolutely irrelevant) ‘popular vote’” in 2000 and lost the presidency by only some hundreds of votes in Florida.

Having only via the well-oiled machinery of the “Democratic” potty’s vast electoral fraud created the illusion for some and the delusion suffered by many that Herr Gore had even “come close.”

Take fraud from the “Democrats” election strategies and no member of that manifestation of evil could, except perhaps in Key west and in San Fran Freako, be elected to catch dogs.