This reflects a truly amazing system of government, and a country of moderates that allow for constant fluctuation in power by holding our representatives accountable and embracing change. Moreover, with this back-and-forth trend in mind, no one could've expected the term following the Bush administration to be an exception to the rule.
On top of everything, the economy took a dive during the worst possible time for McCain. Late September and October brought economic disaster on Wall Street, and Obama benefited immensely from it. As the situation became grimmer, McCain's chances of being elected followed suit, and the margin of positive press about Obama became greater than 5-to-1. At this point, undecided voters began flocking to Obama.
All of these issues aren't justifications for McCain's loss. They're simply illustrations to show that when faced with an uphill battle, McCain and his supporters held their own.
Forty-six percent of the popular vote and 163 predicted electoral votes don't make a winner, or even a particularly close race. But it was by no means the landslide that could've occurred. And the votes McCain did get speak volumes about the possibilities for the future.
Most notably, however, I see McCain's final numbers as a reflection of someone who had a significant amount of support against all odds, and of someone who ran a campaign with dignity and the utmost respect for the democratic process until the very end.
With all of that said, I have to remind myself that campaigns are competitions. And who people choose to vote for and who's elected is determined by many factors. Obama maximized his resources, impassioned the electorate and campaigned better overall. Hands down. He deserves this win.
But there's only so much optimism I can muster, because at the end of the day, Republicans lost. With that in mind, they shouldn't waste a minute. They should move forward, changing a few things, holding strong to certain values, and working toward a different result in 2010 and 2012.
For now, those who voted for Obama want the change he has promised. So now he's charged with the responsibility of delivering.
He's inheriting many obstacles to overcome and certainly many new ones in the future. And everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike, can agree we hope the next four years will prove 46 percent of us wrong.
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Why should the press have to offer the same number of negative stories about each candidate? Their job is to report the news, not create a false storyline because of some misguided attempt at fairness.
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Certainly the media doesn't have to be fair. However, it is shocking sometimes how far the media bias can extend. There has always been bias in the news, it just seemed that this election season really let it show. She is just pointing out the extremes we saw in this election. I am glad McCain did not win but still not enthused about Obama in office. And towards the author: why flock towards partisanship? I guess I just don't get it.
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Please...you might as well question why the Republican Party treated President Bush like a leper this year (disinvited to the convention). Its because "it didn't sell" covering McCain as much as covering Obama and Hilary. You notice the exception to the rule was Sarah Palin. Heck, the "liberal media" is currently wistfully hoping she runs in 2012...so they can dump on her which will bring in more viewers. Ratings..and if they were so liberal they would cover black girls that go missing...
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McCain failed to own the news cycles and it buried him -- blaming it on the liberal media more than a self-delusional. McCain ran a sloppy campaign with mixed messages at the start, at the end he failed to speak to the middle class about how they would be protected by the failings of the upper-class/corporations. Obama listened to what people wanted to hear about talked to them about that. He didn't hang the entirety of his campaign on negative campaigning that McCain did.
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The media needs to offer the same number of negative stories in an election like this because they are the gatekeeper. There were tons of stories about Obama that were not covered enough and both sides know that. Dont make me get out the list. They set the agenda for us to think about, not the other way around. The media is a reflection that has started to move for us. Shame shame on them.
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Anonymous on Nov. 6, Bush and Cheney were both invited to the convention. They did not attend because of a major hurricane happening in the Gulf of Mexico. PS- EXCELLENT story, Liza.
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...and the Republicans didn't treat him like a leper. W set a record today which should make you proud....24% popularity!
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