The Day After Thoughts

Now that the election is over ...

• everyone will be happy that endless political ads and commercials will not be heard for another couple years.
• I'll wonder what to post on this blog.
• it's time to congratulate our new President-elect, and acknowledge this historic event.
• it's also time for Republicans to regroup and understand why we lost.

Here are some thoughts that have been going through my mind about why McCain and so many other Republicans were defeated.

1. I truly believe that McCain was the wrong candidate to go up against Obama. During the primaries, the media was very much behind McCain, and that helped him secure the win, but as soon as the primaries were over, the media switched allegiances. The debates were controlled too much by a few individuals, and the issues asked during the Republican Primary debates where seldom if ever touched on during the General Election. One of the big problems with McCain is that many conservatives did not really support him, but they simply opposed Obama ... that resulted in a less than enthusiastic campaign.
   
2. The other problem was perception. This has everything to do with appearance, and nothing to do with substance. Obama was young, McCain was old. Obama was charismatic and eloquent, McCain's speeches were rather dull and boring. Obama seemed to be in touch, McCain seemed a little out of date. I truly believe a younger, more articulate candidate would have faired better against Obama ... I don't know if that alone would have secured a victory, but it might have helped.
   
3. I believe McCain missed a golden opportunity that the $700 Billion pork bailout bill gave him to show that he truly was a maverick. He should have voted against that bill. He should have named names and made famous all the pork that was included in that bill, as he said he would do to any pork laden bill that would come across his desk if he were elected president. Many Americans thought the bailout was a bad idea, and McCain would have had the opportunity to show a huge contrast between himself and Obama, especially as the stock market continues to drop after the bailout has gone into effect.

By the next election cycle, I hope that the Republican Party will find a Newt Gingrich type person who can articulate conservative solutions to problems our nation faces. As Rush Limbaugh says, conservatism works every time it's tried.

Looking ahead to 2012 ... Go Huckabee!

New McCain Ad In Response To Biden

Do You Want An International Crisis?? If So, VOTE OBAMA!

VP Candidate Joe Biden promised a crisis within 6 months if Obama is voted in as President.



Former Secretary of State under President Clinton, Madeleine Albright agrees with Biden:



WAKE UP AMERICA! The last thing our country needs right now is to deal with an international crisis. Elect somebody who is ready to lead -- John McCain.

Dean Reynolds, a CBS reporter covering the campaigns of Obama and McCain, made the following observations in a blog. I believe his article provides some valuable insight into the organizational and leadership skills of each candidate, as well as an insight into their character.

Behind the scenes, where the public is not allowed, there are other differences.

Obama's campaign schedule is fuller, more hectic and seemingly improvisational. The Obama aides who deal with the national reporters on the campaign plane are often overwhelmed, overworked and un-informed about where, when, why or how the candidate is moving about. Baggage calls are preposterously early with the explanation that it's all for security reasons.

If so, I would love to have someone from Obama's campaign explain why the entire press corps, the Secret Service, and the local police idled for two hours in a Miami hotel parking lot recently because there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. It was not an isolated case.

The national headquarters in Chicago airily dismisses complaints from journalists wondering why a schedule cannot be printed up or at least e-mailed in time to make coverage plans. Nor is there much sympathy for those of us who report for a newscast that airs in the early evening hours. Our shows place a premium on live reporting from the scene of campaign events. But this campaign can often be found in the air and flying around at the time the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" is broadcast. I suspect there is a feeling within the Obama campaign that the broadcast networks are less influential in the age of the internet and thus needn't be accomodated as in the days of yore. Even if it's true, they are only hurting themselves by dissing audiences that run in the tens of millions every night.

The McCain folks are more helpful and generally friendly. The schedules are printed on actual books you can hold in your hand, read, and then plan accordingly. The press aides are more knowledgeable and useful to us in the news media. The events are designed with a better eye, and for the simple needs of the press corps. When he is available, John McCain is friendly and loquacious. Obama holds news conferences, but seldom banters with the reporters who've been following him for thousands of miles around the country. Go figure.

The McCain campaign plane is better than Obama's, which is cramped, uncomfortable and smells terrible most of the time. Somehow the McCain folks manage to keep their charter clean, even where the press is seated.

The other day in Albuquerque, N.M., the reporters were given almost no time to file their reports after McCain spoke. It was an important, aggressive speech, lambasting Obama's past associations. When we asked for more time to write up his remarks and prepare our reports, the campaign readily agreed to it. They understood.

Similar requests are often denied or ignored by the Obama campaign aides, apparently terrified that the candidate may have to wait 20 minutes to allow reporters to chronicle what he's just said. It's made all the more maddening when we are rushed to our buses only to sit and wait for 30 minutes or more because nobody seems to know when Obama is actually on the move.

Maybe none of this means much. Maybe a front-running campaign like Obama's that is focused solely on victory doesn't have the time to do the mundane things like print up schedules or attend to the needs of reporters.

But in politics, everything that goes around comes around.

GOP Convention

It was good to hear Gov. Huckabee speak tonight. He made two comments that received overwhelming applause. The first was about the sanctity of life. The other was when he said, "Sarah Palin received more votes running for mayor in Wasilla, AK than Joe Biden received running for President of the United States."

Mitt Romney made a good point in his speech about change. The Democrats are running on the idea of change, and Romney agree that alot of liberal policies in Washington, D.C. need change. From the liberal rulings on the Supreme Court regarding Guantanamo Bay, to the Congress not allowing us to drill for oil or build new refineries, etc., we do need change! McCain has a plan to bring productive change that we need.

Mayor Rudy went on the attack against Obama. He said there is good change and bad change. I liked his quote, "Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy." He got the crowd really worked up and enthused.

VP Candidate Sarah Palin communicated very effectively in her speech, once she got started. She stood at the podium for several minutes saying "Thank You" over and over to a standing ovation. I have yet to research all of her beliefs, but what I have heard so far, I like. She took on the liberal media, and Obama's lack of experience. Very well done!

Media's Obsession over Obama

Here's an interesting video compilation of the media's love for Obama.

Will McCain try to court the Religious Right?

Politico.com reports that McCain shies away from talking about religion. Here's an expert of an article written by Johnaton Martin:

Traversing the country this week on a tour of places that have shaped his life and informed his values, John McCain spoke in strikingly personal language to introduce himself to the American public.

But missing so far is any significant mention of religious faith.

In an Oprah Winfrey-era where soul-baring and expressions of faith are the norm for public figures, the presumptive Republican nominee, open and candid about much else, retains a shroud of privacy around his Christianity.

With Obama having the #1 most liberal voting record in the Senate, and Clinton ranking as the 16th most liberal Senator, neither Democratic candidate is an option for conservative voters. While leaning towards supporting McCain at the moment, I am still waiting for him to "reach across the aisle" in my direction. It appears that once again the Evangelical wing of the party will be taken for granted. I wonder if that will be a tragic mistake come November?