History and commentary on presidential election 2008 in Utah

2008 is a Leap year beginning on a Tuesday
Throughout history, a year of political shifts or calms before political storms

1828 D replaces T Jackson defeats President Adams. New era shift

1856 D retains D Buchanan keeps the status quo as apocalypse approaches.

1884 D replaces R Grover Cleveland the only Democrat president between 1861 and 1911. Not a new era, but a shift.

1924 R reelected Calvin Coolidge retains the 1920s Republican status quo as apocalypse approaches.

1952 R replaces D Eisenhower replaces President Truman. Not a new era exactly, but a shift.

1980 R replaces D Reagan defeats President Carter. New era shift.

2008 D replaces R Obama will replace Bush. Hard to tell if this is a lasting shift or a
new era.

In Utah, experts fully expected 75 to 80 percent of Utahns to vote. They did not – the percentage is probably in the high 60 percentile. The weather turned bad on election day, and those who did not like either Obama or McCain probably used lousy weather as an excuse not to decide. Voter turn out in Utah County was also low by the standards of 2008, and the weather was not THAT bad in Utah County either, though the rain came down steadily most of the day.

Speaking of Utah County, the Democrats in Utah County fielded candidates in all the senate and house races. They worked their little hearts out campaigning, and the Utah County Voters voted Republican by wide margins anyway.

Utahns in the Third Congressional District of Utah have elected a new Republican representative amid the Democratic gains in the House of Representatives. Talk about our Utah County Brethren remaining unshakable in their reactionariness. The heathens of Babylon America considered Representative Chris Cannon an utter conservative reactionary. He even lead the unsuccessful fight to impeach Clinton. However, Cannon held a few high profile unpopular views in Utah County, so he received regular primary challenges. This year, the Utah Republicans were earlier this year in a particularly militant mood what with the general popularity of Obama and Hilary and the national rejection of Mitt Romney. Thus in June, they finally dumped Cannon in favor of a new Representative named Jason Chaffetz who, on the poltical tally sheet, seems even more reactionary than Cannon!

Voting habits come from deep inside. In Utah, a Republican candidate has to be bad to the bone before the voters will reject him. Or Her. Take a look at this list of Republican presidential election voting percentages history in Utah.

year GOP Dem

2008 62 32 A black liberal, mind you, does well in Utah! Romney was more popular, but the GOP dutifully voted for McCain

2004 71 26 You’d think a white Catholic military vet would do better in Utah

2000 67 26 You’d think Gore would have been more popular than Obama, but no.

TWO FLUKE ELECTIONS IN UTAH
1996 54 33 Clinton actually became a little more popular before Monica, A strong third party candidate

1992 43 24 Clinton unpopular, Perot actually came in 2nd!


1988 68 31 Bush I did well in Utah before he established the New World Order

1984 74 25 Reagan was an Idol in Utah, Democrats couldn’t give away candy

1980 73 25 Reagan was an Idol in Utah.

1976 62 34 Reagan was more popular, but the GOP dutifully voted Ford

1972 67 26 McGovern couldn’t give away Candy in Utah

Utah did vote for Johnson in 1964, which was a major fluke. The rest of the time, Utah votes Republican (1900- 1928, [Roosevelt-Truman interegnum 1932-48] and since 1952). Our neighbors have been, how shall we say?, less predictable over the long haul of years. Here is the presidential electoral college record.

year Arizona Nevada Colorado New Mexico Montana

1960 Nixon Kennedy Nixon Nixon Nixon

1964 Goldwater Johnson Johnson Johnson Johnson

1992 Bush I Clinton Clinton Clinton Clinton

1996 Clinton Clinton Dole Clinton Dole

2000 Bush II Bush Bush Gore Bush

2004 Bush II Bush Bush Bush Bush

2008 McCain Obama Obama Obama McCain

In the nation, the shifts from Republican candidates to Democratic candidates in the presidential electoral college vote happened in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia. At this stage, it is hard to tell if North Carolina shifted from Republican to Democratic. All the other voting traditions remained solidly in place.

Four USA presidents were born in the 1910s decade. Two presidents were born in 1924. No president was born in the 1930s, Two presidents were born in 1946. Three presidents were born in the 1940s -- if you count SuperVeep Cheney. No president has been born in my birth decade the 1950s. Our president-elect was born in Honolulu in August 1961, the same month that the Russians erected the Berlin Wall. This is the first time a president-elect is younger than I. Time marcheth on.