Posted on 11/05/2008 7:58:38 AM PST by publius_in_abq
Let's begin the soul-searching. A month ago, I agreed with most pundits that McCain was the only candidate who had a chance to make this race close. I am beginning to doubt this now. McCain barely won his own state of AZ, and lost Iowa (due to ethanol subsidy opposition) and neighboring SW homestates of CO and NM, and barely won TX (12% spread!) and GA (5%). McCain also lost Ohio and FL soundly and was drubbed in PA.
I was deeply disappointed in Palin's debate with Biden (gave her a B-) and her interview with Couric was cringe-inducing (couldn't name a single magazine she reads, and over the course of weeks couldn't come up with one decent answer as to how living next to Russia gives her foreign policy experience). But I still don't think she was the drag on this ticket. She is inexperienced in terms of the national scene. But she was the fighter on the team, while McCain was less so. So I am still unsure...who was the drag on the ticket? Or would no one have fared better than these two against BO?
That would be a GOP that has done absolutely nothing to help their image or Bush’s image since winning the 2004 election. When your sitting president has to stay home because absolutely no one wants the voters to remember that you both have the same party affiliation you’re begging for an ass kicking. This was an unwinnable election for any GOP candidate.
The loss was just a few million votes, despite the terrible political landscape and shrinking GOP voter rolls. I think both did pretty well. Palin motivated the base, which is significant for votes, money and volunteers. McCain was not most people’s first choice. I would criticize a number of strategy mistakes, but he campaigned hard and fought to the end. They lost in the end, it may have been winnable. Palin’s only missteps were being over managed, a poor interview, and probably a little too much hokieness. She needed to get beyond that a little bit and sound serious in the debate.
The Republican party is ashamed of conservatives. They're ashamed of the right. They're apologetic about people like Palin expressing her views.
Republicans would win in a landslide each and every time if they always espoused conservative views and weren't apologetic about pointing. If all Republicans were all like Rush Limbaugh and not afraid to say what the Democrat party REALLY stands for we would practically have one party rule.
It’s an unfair world. If you really think Sarah Palin was incapable of naming a newspaper you are drinking the kool aid. She merely thought she shouldn’t name specific papers and it sounded dumb.
Please compare her interviews to Biden’s non-existent interviews. Please compare to Biden saying Obama will cause WWIII in 6 months.
I don’t doubt that more people found her unqualified. That is sad, but you have to accept there is a core democrat group of minorities, labor, and college kids who would say a democrat ham sandwich is more qualified.
I think we were in a cycle that favored the Democrats.
Bush had been marginalized. Republicans nominated a centrist and not a conservative.
The stock market crash made the economy the focus.
People were voting for history not common sense.
I consider McCain a sacrificial candidate.
the economy....created by Carter and nurtured by Clinton, Fanny and Freddy caused the big September down turn in the market, giving unreliable people Mortgages and actually forcing lending organizations (bullies like ACORN who threatened the lenders) to accept these losers for mortgages. Combined with catalysts like Senator Putzhead Schummer causing a bank run in California and pooof your 401K’s are worth 1/3 or more less than before and people wanting a change and not seeing the causes blame the Republican administration and BINGO...we have a Marxist president who promises to make things much worse than it ever would be under RINOs Bush or McCain.
I have to take issue with that. On other threads I've read where turnout in 2008 was below that of 2004. What I believed happened is Independents swung more to Obama than McCain. The GOP/McCain simply didn't have an inspiring policy. Neither did Obama but he's far more charismatic. Sarah was what gave the GOP the votes it got. But those came from the base; not voting for the GOP ticket but for her and in fear of Obama.
McCain was the drag. Sarah was the only thing good about the campaign... then he kept her in ropes. He backstabbed the conservatives one last time. But GOOD!
You’ve got that right.
What a Political Genius! Lose Florida, Ohio and other RED States. Great Campaign!
Let’s see...who hired him???
This curiously timed financial crisis needs investigating. I know the dems will try to sweep it under the rug now, but we should demand that our congressmen/senators insist on an investigation. You know the dems are up to their eyeballs in it since they aren't the ones screaming for an investigation -- for a change.
we thought we could drag McCain over the threshold but we couldn't....
he set the tone when he decided he was going to be polite and distance himself from the Pubs....
but that being said....it was the MONEY ....MONEY....MONEY.....
you can't expect to win when you're opponent has 3 to 4 to 5 times amount of money available, and you know you can get more any time you want....
my candidate here in Washington state for gov. was doing well.....Rossi...up until the last weeks of the campaign when lo and behold the unions came in with another million dollars for his opponent....you can't have 3x the ads for one candidate and expect to have any hope...
look at murtha...Move on brought him extra millions and he pulled it off handidly now didn't he.....
McCain was principled and good and honest and a statesmen.....
but the money folks...and the fact that MSM never was going to let him be elected over their messiah....
The drag on the ticket was the economic situation. Sixty percent of voters identified the economy as the most important issue. As nearly always happens when there’s economic problems, the party in power gets thrown out, and another put in. This election was no different.
RINO McCain was the drag on the Republican ticket.
Toss up between W and McQueeg.
We have this supposedly conservative idiot on WVNN - Huntsville, AL who said Palin is absolutely not part of the new Conservative national landscape. Said she should go back to Alaska and stare at Russia. So much for my support of WVNN morning show.
Conservatives continue to shoot our own.
I voted for Sarah.
That’s the country club conservatives like Peggy Noonan, et al, who think that Sarah isn’t good enough for membership in their exclusive club. Those are the people who see Reagan Democrats as a necessary evil.
Sarah brought excitement and realism to the circus that the professional pols put on every 2-4 years.
My vote for McCain was only an anti-socialist vote against Obama. The republican party has morphed into something I don’t recognize. Why in hell did’nt they look harder for a fresh face? My God!....anyone should be able to beat a far right socialist who threatens the very foundations of the country.
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