The Tabloids Called It First, Sorta

I have some thoughts about why tabloids are able to report this kind of stuff. Remind me to talk about it later.

I remember walking past a Kiosk a week ago give or take a couple of days and seeing a headline screaming 45 seat debacle for the DPJ. Still, no one in the mainstream media saw an LDP plurality—knock on wood, Sadakazu Tanigaki—coming. Two immediate consequences of the unexpected DPJ loss: a) All policy initiatives are off the table until the September DPJ presidential election and b) the LDP surge and the poor showing by Ozawa’s candidates diminishes the chances of an outright Ozawa-led split. Point b) is what good news there is for Prime Minister Kan. Right now, I think that it will very difficult to cobble together a workable coalition, but I am stunned—and smashed.

One final point (for now): Floater voters trump special interest electoral machines.

Good night y’all.