Yep, elections come down to winning over the masses, and that is the job of the candidate, not the loyal party voters. When the candidate loses, it’s the candidate’s fault, not the voters’ fault.
I completely disagree with your premise. If the “loyal party voter” couldn’t bring themselves out to vote for a man who was head and shoulders better than what we already knew we had, that is on the voter, not the candidate.
And, many also seem to forget just how much the Lame Stream Media was Obozo’s cheerleader during the 2012 campaign, resulting in extremely poor coverage of Romney, with exceptional favoritism for Obozo. And, since the IRS and AP scandals have come to light, I’d say there were many reasons why the dimocRATS had “ammunition” against Romney that they had no business having access to. But, hey. At least you can sleep better at night since the election, right?