A 2008 Election Post-Mortem

After nearly 2 years, mountains of lies, countless examples of media misconduct and billions of dollars in mudslinging, Barack Obama has made history as the 44th, yet first black President of the United States. Democrats also further tightened their clutches on Congress. Although not quite the whoopin it was hyped to be, it was substantial enough to send a loud and clear message to the Republican Party:

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Get back to basics and stand up for the principles of your constituency or you're finished.   Barack Obama's victory had nothing to do with his experience and everything to do with John McCain's ineptitude. Obama's campaign ran a smooth, polished operation that utilized all mediums of communication.  His ads were everywhere. He had a tremendous fund raising advantage having taken back his word on accepting public financing. He also quite effectively utilized the Internet.   The Presidential race was statistically even until President Bush's announcement that the economy was on the verge of meltdown. Neither candidate offered anything in the way of solutions, rather they simply went along for the ride with Congress on their bailout bandwagon. Had it not been for Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber, McCain would have self-destructed completely.   McCain was never a viable candidate in the eyes of true conservatives to begin with. His admission that his knowledge of the economy was less than stellar didn't help matters. His announcement that his campaign was suspended so he could help solve the economic crisis came across as a cynical political ploy and began the process of nailing McCain's campaign coffin shut.   McCain ran an absolutely dismal campaign. There were numerous issues that he either used ineffectively, too late or not at all. While raising the issue of Iraq, McCain failed to really hammer Obama on it. For his part, Obama tried to avoid Iraq and McCain failed to capitalize on that. Obama's stances on Illegal immigration and granting driver's licenses to illegal aliens was never mentioned by McCain. Nor was Obama's bombastic pastor Jeremiah Wright. Obama's associations with Tony Rezko and William Ayers were brought out in the final weeks, far too late. As a result, they never had a chance to stick in the public consciousness.   John McCain had all the enthusiasm of an undertaker and failed to land a single blow on Obama until the final weeks when he was on the ropes himself. Now that it's over the campaign finger pointing has begun.A favorite target has become Sarah Palin.   After watching this woman through the campaign, I will say this: Although she electrified the Republican base, I am thoroughly convinced she was woefully unprepared. That said, the fault still lies with John McCain. McCain staunchly defended Palin's qualifications and said she was thoroughly vetted. If her lack of knowledge was not discovered during the vetting process then those who did the vetting are to blame, as is McCain for not controlling the process. And if it was discovered and McCain chose her regardless, then the fault lies squarely on his shoulders for not preparing her properly. In the end, she came across as a real human being who connected with people in a way that no Republican has in a very long time. She has a bright future in the Republican Party, but she has a lot of work to do as well.   The Republican Party is now in the process of cutting off their own nose to spite their face. Anonymous cowards in the McCain campaign blame and disparage Sarah Palin, yet fail to recognize the blatant violation of their own supposed core principle: That of personal responsibility. The McCain campaign stunk. Therefore the people who made up that campaign stunk. The buck stops with McCain. Although his campaign chairman publicly denied the rumors surrounding Palin, apparently John McCain lacks the guts to do so himself.   The Republican Party has lost its way. They lost me years ago. They have abandoned the core conservative principles of personal responsibility, smaller, more responsive, less intrusive and less wasteful government and conservative yet overwhelming use of military force in favor of a bloated, perverted bureaucracy that tries to fight wars on the cheap.   America remains a center-right country as evidenced by a few key points:    • Ballot initiatives banning gay marriage passed in three states. • Overwhelming opposition to President Bush's first economic stimulus as well as to the financial bailout plan. • Many congressional Democrats actually won by campaigning on conservative values.   The fact that Republicans have been drubbed since 2006 has nothing to do with a leftward lean in the electorate. It has more to do with the leftward lean of Republicans when they abandon their core values of personal responsibility and less government. When they return to those values, their base will return to them.