Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Well, it's over. Barack Obama swept to a landslide win that shocked even the prescient Pendragon. 52% of the popular vote, 338 electoral votes (and counting), wins in solidly Republican states like Virginia, Indiana, Florida and Ohio. This election had it all.
Am I happy? Kind of. I can be a Republican again. I don't need to silently root against my own party. As far as I am concerned, the Republicans lost this race the moment they gave the nomination to John McCain. They gambled that Hillary Clinton would be the Democrats' nominee, that the Republican base would unite against her and McCain would woo over some moderates. But instead it became the old codger against the flashy upstart, the insider against the outsider, a boring old man instead of the great orator. The Republicans revealed in this election that they are afraid of any kind of change and it cost them dearly. They had a shot. One candidate could have boasted both experience and the outsider status. He could have spoken authoritatively on health care, economic woes, and had a solid record on social issues. There was only one problem with this man: he did not share the faith of a very vocal group of Republicans who essentially shot themselves in the foot. Because of the religious litmus test, the one man who might have compared favorably to Obama was rejected and the fate of the Republican party was sealed.
But I am not unhopeful. I wish the best to President-elect Obama, but I urge him not to get too comfortable. We won't make the same mistake twice.
Am I happy? Kind of. I can be a Republican again. I don't need to silently root against my own party. As far as I am concerned, the Republicans lost this race the moment they gave the nomination to John McCain. They gambled that Hillary Clinton would be the Democrats' nominee, that the Republican base would unite against her and McCain would woo over some moderates. But instead it became the old codger against the flashy upstart, the insider against the outsider, a boring old man instead of the great orator. The Republicans revealed in this election that they are afraid of any kind of change and it cost them dearly. They had a shot. One candidate could have boasted both experience and the outsider status. He could have spoken authoritatively on health care, economic woes, and had a solid record on social issues. There was only one problem with this man: he did not share the faith of a very vocal group of Republicans who essentially shot themselves in the foot. Because of the religious litmus test, the one man who might have compared favorably to Obama was rejected and the fate of the Republican party was sealed.
But I am not unhopeful. I wish the best to President-elect Obama, but I urge him not to get too comfortable. We won't make the same mistake twice.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 2:25 AM 
