The 2008 Presidential Campaign: What Happened and Why?

[Holbytla]

I stand corrected. There is actually a bit of movement going on, but it is happening pretty slowly.

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/e ... 7-2008.htm

[Holbytla]

Joe Biden won re-election tonight to his senate seat in Delaware.
So...does the govenor pick a temp until a special election can be held?

[The Watcher]

All I can say is "Oh Happy Day!"





And, Senator McCain was most gracious, unlike his pack of supporters. The healing of America seems a bit more unlikely.

And I have to add, THANK THE GODS WE DID NOT GET SARAH PALIN IN FEDERAL OFFICE.

Nuff said on that issue.

[Rebecca]

And I have to add, THANK THE GODS WE DID NOT GET SARAH PALIN IN FEDERAL OFFICE.

Nuff said on that issue.

But we can pretend! Have you ever seen this site? http://www.palinaspresident.us/

[Lalaith]

Very interesting.

It looks like it'll be a long time before any change can happen, though.

Ohio is a state that hasn't even considered it.



Lali

[The Watcher]

Very interesting.

It looks like it'll be a long time before any change can happen, though.

Ohio is a state that hasn't even considered it.



Lali

I know we do not agree politically at all, but, I wonder what your post meant?

In terms of gay marriage, if that is what you are referring to, Wisconsin already had a vote on that, and they passed something that stated that marriage could only be between a man and a woman. It is now being challenged as well.

[Lalaith]

Sorry, no, I cross-posted with you guys. I was referring to electoral college reform.

Nothing nearly as controversial as gay marriage or interesting as the horrors of Palin as president.


Lali

[themary]

The first thing Obama should do is ban the word Maverick. I can't even watch Top Gun anymore

[vison]

Hey!!! We're back!!!!

[WampusCat]

And so is America.

[Primula Baggins]

Can you believe that there was dancing in the streets?

Dancing in the streets!

I thought that was gone, over, dead—no American would ever again be so uncynical as to go out and dance for joy in public because he was happy about . . . an election?

Oh, I am SO happy to be wrong.

Two-part joy here: another email from my brother in Ohio, part horrifying but still offering hope:

OMG!!!

What a speech, eh? I think Jon Stewart's job just got harder; I couldn't be happier, or more excited for what's next.

Right now, that's pretty much all I can say. Last three weeks were like an expanded virtual reality; it doesn't seem real that that was my life, holding a 24/7 conversation on phones and stoops with an entirely white and largely racist Pike County electorate that may well have (we still don't know) gone democratic, but which, at the very least, went more for Obama than they have gone for any Dem national candidate in modern history. And, if you look closely you can see it, Obama's black.... As recently as 1950 there was a sign in Waverly announcing its apartheid policy: "Black man, don't let the sun gone down behind you in this town." Two years ago they beat a gay guy to death and tossed him in the dumpster behind our Dem HQ downtown. Now the same constituency is within 200 votes of going for Barack.

Anyway, I'm over the moon. My former Congressional candidate in NY, Eric Massa, also won last night and is now in the House. Also, NY won back its senate for a complete legislative majority--one of the goals of New Democratic Majority when we founded it. The party said it would take eight years to achieve this--it took four! Thanks largely to grassroots effort.

The story of this campaign has to be fully told; one day I'm sure it will. Nothing is every as "frictionless" as people like to call Obama's groundgame (you should have seen tghe last 72 hours behind the scenes!!!) but this comes as close to that ideal as anything probably ever should.

I'm proud and happy, and glad I brought three other New Yorkers down here to help out. We staffed the hell out of the Waverly office!

Love you. Can't wait to see you guys at Christmas. Hope you guys enjoyed last night as much as we did here! I know you did.

Still in OH,

T

And, from the county where my brother was working in Ohio:

Pike County
100% (24 of 24) precincts reporting

McCain, John: 6,005 votes
Obama, Barack: 5,833 votes

If that isn't a miracle, I do not know what is.

And it partakes of the essential quality of most miracles: it is the result of a lot of caring, intelligent, selfless people working their butts off.

[halplm]

The fallout among conservatives today is a bit odd. There is evidence among talk radio (and there was a news story somewhere, but I don't have a link) that even though they haven't been pushing it hard, the anti-McCain vote among Conservatives was big. Conservatives really don't like him, and many chose to vote for Obama because they have completely lost faith in the republican party, and want them to go down hard, so they can come back stronger.

Personally, I don't think that's a good call if you're looking out for the country now, but I chose not to vote for either, which is essentially the same thing, so I understand them.

To me, and many others, there's still two possible Obama's we could see. We could see the hard left guy that has always been there, and we could see the master politician that wants a second term, and genuinely wants to put the country on a path he thinks will work out to make everyone happy.

Acceptance speach...good IMHO, although not as inspiring as in the past. He looked almost grim with the work that needs to be done. Appropriate perhaps, but a little surprising to me. Getting Clinton's chief of staff for his... not good IMHO.

If the dems in congress go hard left, as all indications show they will, Obama is going to be pulled in two directions... the uniter or the "sign anything they can pass" leftist. I hope for all the people that have been energized and gained joy from this election, that its the first, but with the potential stripping of Lieberman's chairmanship, and push for liberal legislation, I worry for the second.

And of course, there can be no doubt the election of an African American (and a biracial one at that) is beyond amazing. A year ago I thought it was impossible.

[WampusCat]

That's a good analysis, hal, but I think there is another possible Obama: the one who genuinely wants to create a bipartisan movement to put the country back on track (not just what makes everyone happy or pleases the far left, but what will make us stronger, more respected, more compassionate and more aligned with our own ideals).

That's the Obama I voted for.

And I do hope conservatives will take this time to reassess their own movement's goals rather than spending all their energies trying to undermine Obama's administration. I was very impressed by McCain's speech Tuesday night, in which he called for Republicans to support their new president.

[JewelSong]

It's so funny, living here in the UK, to hear Obama categorized as "hard left!" Compared to all UK and EU politics, he's anything but! It's all in the perspective.

I will say that the mood over here is one of great jubilation and there is a distinct feeling of optimism about the US and our place in the world. People are very very hopeful that finally there will be an administration that is willing to work with the rest of the world.

another possible Obama: the one who genuinely wants to create a bipartisan movement to put the country back on track (not just what makes everyone happy or pleases the far left, but what will make us stronger, more respected, more compassionate and more aligned with our own ideals).

Wampus, that is the Obama I voted for too. And that is what I genuinely want for the United States. I am hopeful that there will be a strong show of solidarity and support and that Obama and his administration will reach across the divide to meet the Republicans halfway.

There certainly is worldwide support for him and if he takes advantage of the current good will, he may be able to get more done than many people think.

I know that there is still quite a contingent of people who are ruled by fear (There apparently are still some people who think Obama "isn't really a citizen" or that "OMG, he's going to take our rights away!") but I hope the more moderate Republicans will rise above that silliness and work together.

The funniest thing I saw was someone who posted that Obama would ruin the country because he was a socialist and they were thinking of moving to Canada. Um...okay, then.

[Pearly Di]

The fallout among conservatives today is a bit odd. There is evidence among talk radio (and there was a news story somewhere, but I don't have a link) that even though they haven't been pushing it hard, the anti-McCain vote among Conservatives was big. Conservatives really don't like him, and many chose to vote for Obama because they have completely lost faith in the republican party, and want them to go down hard, so they can come back stronger.

Wow, I didn't realise McCain wasn't that popular with the GOP. My estimation of him has actually gone up a lot and I was very impressed with his concession speech: very wise, very classy. Good one, mate.

Acceptance speach...good IMHO, although not as inspiring as in the past. He looked almost grim with the work that needs to be done. Appropriate perhaps, but a little surprising to me.

I'm not in the least surprised about that. My impression of Obama is that he is a disciplined, cool-headed realist. My goodness me, he will need to be.

Meanwhile, I fully expect him to walk on water, solve world peace, jack-start the global economy whilst lowering taxes and, of course, fly across the Atlantic so he can fill up my car with petrol. In person.

And of course, there can be no doubt the election of an African American (and a biracial one at that) is beyond amazing. A year ago I thought it was impossible.

It certainly is amazing. Americans have done something really remarkable: by electing a black/biracial President, they have defeated their past and proved they really do believe in the principles and ideals of their great nation. The watching world is impressed, and I love America for what happened yesterday.

[Alatar]

Its funny isn't it. I wonder if people will remember now how the rest of World was accused of hating America and hating Freedom, when in reality, what the world resented was Bush's disastrous Presidency and the knock on effect his lousy policies had on every one of us.

Make no mistake, Obama's policies if implemeted will hurt American interests here in Ireland, but I have to believe that a strong America is good for Europe and if we have to take the hit on some US jobs based in Ireland for that to happen, we will.

We never hated America. We hated where Bush brought you.

[Túrin Turambar]

Wow, I didn't realise McCain wasn't that popular with the GOP.

He has something of a history of breaking with his party on several issues (although he kept it down throughout the campaign). He wasn't the first choice of the conservatives in the GOP, nor the second, nor even the third. He's also taking most of the blame for the defeat among conservatives, even though I think he's a major reason that it wasn't a wipeout yesterday.

The upshot of this is that the Republicans may take the Goldwater approach in 2012 and lurch to the right. It never works.

[Pearly Di]

It's funny isn't it. I wonder if people will remember now how the rest of World was accused of hating America and hating Freedom, when in reality, what the world resented was Bush's disastrous Presidency and the knock on effect his lousy policies had on every one of us.

And criticising a country's policies is not the same as hating it.

I criticise my country's policies all the time.

Make no mistake, Obama's policies if implemeted will hurt American interests here in Ireland, but I have to believe that a strong America is good for Europe and if we have to take the hit on some US jobs based in Ireland for that to happen, we will.

How will Irish interests be hurt, Al? *feels naive*

I, too, want a strong America. Look at it this way: America is still the planet's only superpower. As strong as the Chinese and Indian economies are becoming, they too have been hit by the global crunch. China may be a rival yet for superpower status, but I think it would be good for the world if America stayed strong.

He has something of a history of breaking with his party on several issues (although he kept it down throughout the campaign). He wasn't the first choice of the conservatives in the GOP, nor the second, nor even the third. He's also taking most of the blame for the defeat among conservatives, even though I think he's a major reason that it wasn't a wipeout yesterday.

That is unfair. If the Republicans think McCain is solely to blame for what happened yesterday, they are barking up the wrong tree, IMO. It's because America was so fed up with BUSH. And, whatever one may think of the ultimate wisdom in McCain's selection of Palin, I agree with you that he's the reason why the GOP wasn't totally massacred. And for that the guy should take a lot of credit.

The upshot of this is that the Republicans may take the Goldwater approach in 2012 and lurch to the right. It never works.

Lurch further to the right???? Oh boy, that can't be good. The last thing America and the world needs is a deepening of those divides in the US.

The US Republicans should take a leaf out of our Conservative Party's book. The Tories are still distinctively Tory but they've learned from Blair's centrist position -- they had to, since he stole Middle England from under their noses -- and they have now become a party that I can respect.

[Túrin Turambar]

The upshot of this is that the Republicans may take the Goldwater approach in 2012 and lurch to the right. It never works.

Lurch further to the right???? Oh boy, that can't be good. The last thing America and the world needs is a deepening of those divides in the US.

The US Republicans should take a leaf out of our Conservative Party's book. The Tories are still distinctively Tory but they've learned from Blair's centrist position -- they had to, since he stole Middle England from under their noses -- and they have now become a party that I can respect.

The Republican Party will walk that road before they again control Congress or the White House. Still, it’s amazing just how irrational the actions of a losing party in America can be. They include nominating someone with significantly more extreme positions than the administration that was just repudiated by the voters (Goldwater in 1964, McGovern in 1972), nominating someone closely tied with a previous administration that had been badly defeated (Mondale in 1984), nominating someone that the whole party found acceptable but nobody actually seemed to like (Dole in 1996, Kerry in 2004) or simply re-nominating the same person who had lost the previous election in a landslide (Stevenson in 1956).

The Republican party will make a shift sooner or later – many commentators are already critically looking at the power the religious right holds (including Charles Johnson at the well-known right-wing website Little Green Footballs). I suspect they’ll end up doing the same thing that U.K. Labour did from 1979 to 1997 – going hardline, getting thrashed, and hen coming to the centre under a new, successful leader.

[Pearly Di]

Wow, you know an awful lot about political history, Lord_M.

I suspect they’ll end up doing the same thing that U.K. Labour did from 1979 to 1997 – going hardline, getting thrashed, and hen coming to the centre under a new, successful leader.

Sounds about right to me. The same thing has happened to the U.K. Tories as well. They're not quite there yet but they'll have their chance soon.