"Politics Is Good"
Nationally Renowned Professor Visits Campus
Lauren Henry, O&B Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/19/08 Section: Features
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Dr. Larry Sabato, the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and the director of the UVA Center for Politics, shared his insight and political expertise on the upcoming national elections to a diverse audience Monday evening Sept. 8 in the Thomas Recital Hall.
People ranging from young college students preparing for their first election to seasoned and aging participants in the political process came to hear why Dr. Sabato believes that "Politics is a Good Thing."
Dr. Sabato who recently returned from the Democratic and Republican Conventions prefaced his lecture with a confession of who he will vote President this coming November.
No, this political expert is not a die-hard Obama fan nor even a McCain supporter. As he has many times before, Dr. Sabato said that in November he will write in the name of a man he truly believes in: Thomas Jefferson.
"He can do no harm," Dr. Sabato remarked. However, Dr. Sabato is not stuck 200 years in the past believing that this long-gone American political hero will actually posthumously occupy the oval office, but rather this is Dr. Sabato's unique way of remaining truly non-partisan.
Dr. Sabato has written numerous books on the American political process and has a website he calls "Sabato's Crystal Ball." This play on words reflects the political analyst's realization that no amount of analysis can predict the outcome of politics and elections. There is no "crystal ball."
Dr. Sabato spent the next hour walking his audience through presidential candidates, their vice-presidential picks, the Congressional future, and even whose votes will really matter in the end.
According to Dr. Sabato, when a president is popular, his party's next candidate is easily elected. However, when the ratings dive, the next candidate has an uphill battle against the polls. A graph showing President Bush's historical approval ratings appeared to be heading straight for the ground. Without at least a 40 percent approval rating, the Republican candidate shouldn't win. "By this, McCain should give up right now," said Dr. Sabato.
However, Dr. Sabato quickly followed that assertion with concession that there can be special occasions. Could that special occasion be 2008?
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