3 ms·

Well, it seems like a big change. In the past, your observation (about haggling) was applicable to local elections; perhaps now it simply escalated to a larger,

• ajross 14y ago
  Agreed; zeteo is looking at the past thorugh some decidedly colored glasses. That's never been the way it worked. Elections have always been won via "haggling", whether that happened in the proverbial smoke-filled rooms of party conventions. Remember that the expectation of a general election being "close" is a fairly recent one. From 1865-1932, for example, the president was effectively picked by the republican convention delegates. Winning an election through careful attention to the polls simply means you're tailoring your messaging and policies to the opinions of the demographcs that matter most to victor. How is that not "democratic?". If your complaint is that some demographics matter more than others, then address your criticism to the electoral college, not the strategy picked by the winning candidate.