Did TCB make a big mistake?

[Unrepented]

Imo, papy end up the winner in that catfight.

1. TPL got in
2. Voters convinced themselves that age is no longer a barrier.

On TCB, I'd rather look at the work done by a person over the decades rather than nine days of self presentation.

I think the Nicole effect is overated, her popularity is illusional. She shined inthe GE only because of TPL.

TRE endorsement hurt rather than help, I would think.

At the end of the day, TCB is too honest, cautious and principled. In the past he had relied on the PAP brand name and do-good goodwill to score high mandates. But this PE was probably his most intense fight ever.

 

[rusty]

Agree 3 corner fight is not healthy and could be detrimental to opp party but by not blaming others for own failure does not necessarily advocate 3 corner fight.

Lets ask ourselves frankly; are we comfortable to have three corner fights in all GRCs come GE2016 base on just one case? And what is the strength of this single case?

Will we want to see three corner fights in Marine Parade, East Coast, Bukit Timah and Tampanies GRCs, Potong Pasir, Hougang and Joo Chiat SMCs come GE2016?

My question as to why opposition parties made the efforts not to engage in three corner fights in GRCs is still unanswered.

 

[wwabbit]

Lets ask ourselves frankly; are we comfortable to have three corner fights in all GRCs come GE2016 base on just one case? And what is the strength of this single case?

Will we want to see three corner fights in Marine Parade, East Coast, Bukit Timah and Tampanies GRCs, Potong Pasir, Hougang and Joo Chiat SMCs come GE2016?

My question as to why opposition parties made the efforts not to engage in three corner fights in GRCs is still unanswered.

I was actually thinking that a few three-corner fights in GE2016 similar to Punggol East may do the opposition a bit of good if a few more opposition parties lose their deposit making them realize that Singaporeans have chosen WP as their preferred opposition party to oppose the PAP. That will likely make WP's position even stronger in GE2021 when the other opposition parties would have disbanded or just get out of the way of wherever WP wants to compete.

Same for PE2017.. hopefully Singaporeans won't make the same mistake again.

 

[Narong Wongwan]

I agree that the Nicole effect is overrated, has seen her speak a few times. Good but not great...
All the hype because of her age and that many netizens find her pretty.
Her base only on the younger set who are internet savvy.
Not with the bf's latest rant online, she's losing a few more fans.

I think the Nicole effect is overated, her popularity is illusional. She shined inthe GE only because of TPL.

TRE endorsement hurt rather than help, I would think.

At the end of the day, TCB is too honest, cautious and principled. In the past he had relied on the PAP brand name and do-good goodwill to score high mandates. But this PE was probably his most intense fight ever.

 

[rusty]

I think the Nicole effect is overated, her popularity is illusional. She shined inthe GE only because of TPL.

TRE endorsement hurt rather than help, I would think.

At the end of the day, TCB is too honest, cautious and principled. In the past he had relied on the PAP brand name and do-good goodwill to score high mandates. But this PE was probably his most intense fight ever.

That's the problem with him being too honest and cautious. Was TT honest over the alleged preferential treatments his sons get? What about TT
opposing the construction of MRT and losing billions in wrong investment?

 

[Unrepented]

I disagree. I honestly hope no one loses their deposit, capable professionals should be encouraged to stand.

To be fair, there are good candidates in all the opposition camps besides WP.

I was actually thinking that a few three-corner fights in GE2016 similar to Punggol East may do the opposition a bit of good if a few more opposition parties lose their deposit making them realize that Singaporeans have chosen WP as their preferred opposition party to oppose the PAP. That will likely make WP's position even stronger in GE2021 when the other opposition parties would have disbanded or just get out of the way of wherever WP wants to compete.

Same for PE2017.. hopefully Singaporeans won't make the same mistake again.

 

[jeesus]

Imo, papy end up the winner in that catfight.

1. TPL got in
2. Voters convinced themselves that age is no longer a barrier.

On TCB, I'd rather look at the work done by a person over the decades rather than nine days of self presentation.

Agree. But most voters will not do the research. It is up to candidates to convince the voters. it is like a job application, no matter how good you are if you flunk the interview (9 day campaign) you are out.

 

[jeesus]

That's the problem with him being too honest and cautious. Was TT honest over the alleged preferential treatments his sons get? What about TT
opposing the construction of MRT and losing billions in wrong investment?

To be fair, the mrt incident, after reading the actual news article Tony was quoted out of context. Considering the economic conditions at that time, he was talking about priorities. He was still wrong to use the word "foolish". But you know, politics is always about power struggle.

 

[Unrepented]

A lousy interviewer:(

.......... it is like a job application, no matter how good you are if you flunk the interview (9 day campaign) you are out.

 

[rusty]

It is quite difficult to determine which side, left or right will gain more but the fact is he chose to tread on a fine line instead being a little bit more aggressive in line with the people's feelings, left or right, at that point of time. He could have swayed more centrists to the left without sacrificing the right who had already made up their minds for TCB.

You have to realize that Tan Cheng Bock had to thread a fine line. As the moderate candidate, he has to win the votes from both the centrist-right and centrist-left voters. His message may not be convincing enough to the leftists, but if he tried to reach out further to them, he will end up alienating the centrist-right voters and losing their votes, for very little gain into the centrist-left votes. Like it or not, there are more of these centrist-right than centrist-left.

Considering that most voting projections, including the Scroobal, severely underestimated the support that TCB would get from the centrist-right, I think Tan Cheng Bock did the right thing with his position. It wasn't your vote that he was trying to win. He was trying to win the vote of the people who would normally vote for the PAP's preferred candidate, and I think he did a good job with that, just a pity it fell a little short.

 

[rusty]

During this PE, the negative feelings towards PAP were shown in the result - 65% were against TT.
Had TCB being more aggressive he would have swayed those voting for TKL and TJS to his side.

 

[Seee3]

You have to realize that Tan Cheng Bock had to thread a fine line. As the moderate candidate, he has to win the votes from both the centrist-right and centrist-left voters. His message may not be convincing enough to the leftists, but if he tried to reach out further to them, he will end up alienating the centrist-right voters and losing their votes, for very little gain into the centrist-left votes. Like it or not, there are more of these centrist-right than centrist-left.

.....

I support your view that he had to thread a fine line. However, towards the end of the campaign, if he has been monitoring the internet community, he should be aware that he is losing many of the moderate oppositions.

He has timed his rally on the last day, which was a great strategy - he got the last say. I was hoping that he will come out with something that will change the tide. Unfortunately, the rally was bland and did not help to recover any losses.

He should be aware of the many doubts among voters on his party position. Yet he has done little to address that. His most aggressive stance was to the challenge the location of PM's office. Unfortunately, that angered the PAP moderates more than pleasing the opposition supporters. I waited for more subtle remarks from him on govt policies but received preaching that we need to integrate with new citizen instead. Maybe he has lost touch on how to engage the "new ground" - internet savvy population. It is not easy. LTK is good at that. His prowess in sarcasm when retorting a point made his rally speeches popular. The new generation likes such stuff. If he has displayed wit like LTK, no sotong can be his stumbling block.

 

[tanwahtiu]

TCB is a 2nd grade PAP dos and this is what he can get. 1st grade one like TT gets all the PAP classroots supports.

He should have been more vocal knowing the uneasiness among the people or perhaps he didn't know at all, instead of trying to portrait himself like a gentleman.
He could have striked the right chord with the people or least swayed some of the undecided if he had have slammed TT or PAP a few more times. LKY once said you cannot be a gentleman when you are in politics and that's why he carries those knuckle dusters.
Timids have no place in politics especially in Singapore.

 

[Porfirio Rubirosa]

v insightful post bro...

as Locke was helping TCB n also based on his wealth of knowledge all things electon wise...wld be interested to hear Locke's views...oh yes not forgetting Scroobal as mentioned below as well...

You have to realize that Tan Cheng Bock had to thread a fine line. As the moderate candidate, he has to win the votes from both the centrist-right and centrist-left voters. His message may not be convincing enough to the leftists, but if he tried to reach out further to them, he will end up alienating the centrist-right voters and losing their votes, for very little gain into the centrist-left votes. Like it or not, there are more of these centrist-right than centrist-left.

Considering that most voting projections, including the Scroobal, severely underestimated the support that TCB would get from the centrist-right, I think Tan Cheng Bock did the right thing with his position. It wasn't your vote that he was trying to win. He was trying to win the vote of the people who would normally vote for the PAP's preferred candidate, and I think he did a good job with that, just a pity it fell a little short.

 

[steffychun]

TCB didnt lose in the social media game. It's people in social media who were awestruck by a SDP-backed candidate.

 

[glockman]

Whether TCB made a big mistake or not, its over now and he understands.

[video=youtube;rywPgwDk9vM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rywPgwDk9vM&feature=mh_lolz&list=FLjVgUNLLdGU4_1GLt75rbKQ[/video]

 

[steffychun]

Whether TCB made a big mistake or not, its over now and he understands.

[video=youtube;rywPgwDk9vM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rywPgwDk9vM&feature=mh_lolz&list=FLjVgUNLLdGU4_1GLt75rbKQ[/video]

Glad he does. Unlike the sore loser.

 

[tanwahtiu]

What to expect from a 2nd grade PAP dog.

Medical docotor only see sick people and only when you tell them you are sick if not they can't tell you are sick. They keep quiet even if they know you are sick. He is at the wrong election with no experience on economy and welfare of the people.

He should have been more vocal knowing the uneasiness among the people or perhaps he didn't know at all, instead of trying to portrait himself like a gentleman.
He could have striked the right chord with the people or least swayed some of the undecided if he had have slammed TT or PAP a few more times. LKY once said you cannot be a gentleman when you are in politics and that's why he carries those knuckle dusters.
Timids have no place in politics especially in Singapore.

 

[mojito]

What to expect from a 2nd grade PAP dog.

Medical docotor only see sick people and only when you tell them you are sick if not they can't tell you are sick. They keep quiet even if they know you are sick. He is at the wrong election with no experience on economy and welfare of the people.

Two things to comment on your four sentences:

1. 2nd grade PAP dog
If you are implying he is "2nd grade" because he wasn't made a PAP Minister, then you must have a very naive view about meritocracy within the PAP ranks. You think all Ministers, MPs, director appointments were made because they were capable and deserving? Too many examples of familee and fiends in high places like uncle WKS to convince me otherwise.

Not PAP Minister does not mean second grade or 'buay kan'.

2. No experience in economy and welfare of the people
Seriously outside intended job scope of a president. Prata Nathan also had no experience in the economy, but he helmed some charities. The President is not meant to do any serious work. He only needs to approve appointments by the gahmen and additional spending from the reserves. For those who understood this (and of course some who don't), and came to know of the 27 unreported drawdowns made during PrataMan's term got suspicious and reactionary, chose to cast a vote for the Doberman TJS to bark at the government when they want to open the vault, investigate what happened and prevent theft and looting.

Some forummers here are naturally frightened at the Doberman since it is a ferocious looking dog, so they went for TCB the big and docile Golden Retriever. Golden Retriever is nice and friendly to all, but to Doberman fans it is quite unsettling because it seems to be a little too friendly with suspicious characters lurking near the Vault.

Alas, fate has been unkind to us all. With a combination of indecision, misinformation and inertia, we end up getting a little poodle to guard our vault instead. He is more likely to yap at you for asking about the reserves than to bark at the Vault raiders who are feeding him $24m worth of premium dog food.

 

[bhoven]

I support your view that he had to thread a fine line. However, towards the end of the campaign, if he has been monitoring the internet community, he should be aware that he is losing many of the moderate oppositions.

He has timed his rally on the last day, which was a great strategy - he got the last say. I was hoping that he will come out with something that will change the tide. Unfortunately, the rally was bland and did not help to recover any losses.

He should be aware of the many doubts among voters on his party position. Yet he has done little to address that. His most aggressive stance was to the challenge the location of PM's office. Unfortunately, that angered the PAP moderates more than pleasing the opposition supporters. I waited for more subtle remarks from him on govt policies but received preaching that we need to integrate with new citizen instead. Maybe he has lost touch on how to engage the "new ground" - internet savvy population. It is not easy. LTK is good at that. His prowess in sarcasm when retorting a point made his rally speeches popular. The new generation likes such stuff. If he has displayed wit like LTK, no sotong can be his stumbling block.

Fair comments....TCB's promise of an annual report detailing what has been achieved by the EP office was also a good starter...pity he lost focus
and momentum towards the end...one needs to be flexible to adjust to changing weather...that does not necessarily mean one is unprincipled....sigh