By Samuel Rubenfeld
As the keynote speaker of “From Votes to Victory,” Charlie Cook described the state of the 2008 election, during the primary season and the general election going forward.
Cook, publisher of The Cook Political Report and an analyst for The National Journal, spoke to a standing room only crowd at the Cultural Center Theatre. “From Votes to Victory,” the one-day inaugural symposium, held by the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency and the University’s Cultural Center, analyzed how to run for office, actively campaign and govern from the White House in the new administration.
“Republicans are turning out in decent numbers, and in some cases record numbers,” Cook said. “But you have Democrats coming out in higher numbers, a huge enthusiasm gap.”
“My sister, who is a Republican back in Louisiana, refers to it as ‘electile dysfuncion,” he added.
In his hour-long keynote, Cook gave a chronology of the race, first about the Democrats, then about the Republicans, before speculating on what may happen in the general election.
“Voter turnout will be extremely high,” Cook said.
During his speech, Cook compared the current race to that of the 1968 election. He gave historical context to the fight inside the Democratic party over superdelegates, elected delegates and popular vote counts.
“If you rank-order all of the Democratic presidential candidates in 1968…Hubert Humphrey, who was the Democratic nominee that year, you know where he ranks in terms of popular vote?” Cook asked. “Seventh, behind people, household names like Governor Branigin of Indiana, who I’d never even heard of.”
Prior to his keynote address, Cook held a small private discussion in the Plaza Rooms for six Honors College students, who sat with him at a table along with Meena Bose, the chair of the Kalikow Center.
“It allowed us to have a real casual conversation and discuss subjects that aren’t really talked about in larger venues,” said Margaret Deichert, a sophomore who was at the private session. “I got to ask a question and receive a personalized answer. It was like he was a regular professor with great insight.”
Cook forecasted another closely divided general election this November. “I expect that we are going to see a presidential election that is basically along the same line of the last two,” he said. “This is truly an awful political climate for Republicans, and the fact that this is a close race…is pretty remarkable.”