Good stuff, Karol. Despite the GOP's and McCain's faults we should realize how long McCain stayed in contention. He was running neck-and-neck with Obama until the financial crisis. It shows external events are powerful.

I agree with your republican points.

mccain lost for 2 big reasons...bush and lack of articulation.

the 2012 nominee needs to have fresh ideas and be able to articulate those ideas.

hmmm...fresh ideas and articulation?...who could that be?

Absolutely. We chose the worst candidate possible and he still made it a race. That's something.

We chose the worst candidate possible and he still made it a race.
The same could be said for the Democrats.

I agree with your above post and was actually thinking along the same lines earlier today.

This was very cathartic. Its going to be a rough few days in the process of accepting this result. But the "durable wisdom of our constitution" will continue to endure...

I nominate you for 2012. Start planning.

McCain should have reached out to the young people as well. Or Palin should've been the presidential nominee. In any case, I am still bitter but hope that our newly elect president does the right thing for America. And I hope that change is not all we have left at the end of his term.

I nominate you for 2012. Start planning.

I wasn't born in this awesome country, unfortunately. Also, I would never want to run for elected office. It's insanely hard for very little reward. I think that's partly why we have the kind of candidates we have.

Well said, Karol. And frankly we must face the statistical unlikelihood of having a two-term Republican succeeded by another Republican administration. ULIM, that's only happened once for each party in the last 100+ years (FDR/Truman, Reagan/Bush).

Every now and then an operational pause is required for a new generation of voters to be reminded (painfully) of why a Democrat in the White House is a mistake (i.e., Obama voters who never 'knew' Carter).

An African-American in the White House will be a very cathartic experience for many, and I genuinely hope it results in a return to sane dialogue for a race-obsessed generation of Americans. Voting for someone based on the color of their skin is inherently dangerous & stupid.

And there are real dangers in the world. The North Koreans, Syrians, Iranians and ChiComs all understand very clearly that we've elected a pacifist for our president. This will be a factor in every aspect of their future interaction, not only with the U.S., but with those nations we have historically defended (Israel, South Korea, Taiwan, the EU, etc.).

Negotiating from a position of weakness has always been the surest path to war.

"I wasn't born in this awesome country, unfortunately."

Doesn't seem to have been a problem for Obama.

wheeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee??????????????

"I wasn't born in this awesome country, unfortunately."
Doesn't seem to have been a problem for Obama.

Did Hawaii temporarily leave the Union during the 60s?

I wasn't born in this awesome country, unfortunately.

I know, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Trifles.

You're dead on!

First - you're right. Find a conservative and back him. Better yet, find a candidate who supports small government, lower taxes and fiscal conservatism. I'll vote for him. Or her. Don't care. That's the beauty of being an independent, I can be as socially liberal as I want and still vote my wallet if I choose.

Second - The only reason I think the world is better is that so many people care about the process now. A lot of us (people that read your blog and talk about politics) already cared. But on both sides there are hundreds of thousands of energized people that took part in the campaigns and now have faith in the process. That's a difference.

Third - you're right. Now once you pick yourself up off the floor, let me go for a "we learned it by watching you, dad!" moment. The last eight years of abysmal behavior from liberals follows eight years of abysmal behavior from conservatives during the Clinton administration. I propose we ban all talk radio in the US for the next two presidential administrations and maybe the folks who have no job other than to elevate the collective blood pressure will have to go to work in a factory somewhere and do something worthwhile for a change.

Finally - the Republicans (or conservatives) need to focus more on who they are (and aren't) than on where the votes were lost. This election wasn't won or lost by one person (unless his initials are GWB and he has an address on Pennsylvania Avenue). The elections all over the US were won or lost based on lack of vision and a changing US demographic. The Republicans can no longer just be the party of rich old white dudes if they want to be viable going forward. They have to figure out that the hot-button issues of guns, abortion and lying about not raising taxes aren't going to cut it any more. It's time for a return to real conservative values - you know, small government, less spending and real defense.

Just my .01 (I'm a half-wit, so it's only worth one cent).

FDR turned a recession into the Great Depression with 25% unemployment with his policies. Obama has promised to do exactly what FDR did. Obama even has his staff reading books on FDR to prepare for the takeover.

That means we will see skyrocking unemployment in the next four years.

It will be a perfect opportunity to take back the government and save the country in 2012. I think the new Republican Party should be built around Palin as she is a conservative and appeals to Americans as no one has since Reagan.

Oh come on, I wana act whiney for a little bit. It's mildly entertaining to have "Not MY President" as my myspace quote.

Karol -

I'd really love to vote Republican, but have you seen the Republicans who live in my part of the country? Too much catering to their whims for too long is the reason your party is in a shambles right now. All you got from cavorting with them - and throwing away the message of individual liberty and personal responsibility - was a "conservative" president who increased government spending more than any executive in our history. Bush isn't just an embarrassment to your party, he's an embarrassment to our nation.

As an outsider, it seems to me that it's not really about the presidency for the GOP right now. It's about changing the demeanor of the party from the ground up. Get more Republicans like Rep. Jeff Flake in office, and we can start talking about moving my support from third-party to Republican. Keep relying on the southern church crowd for your baseline support, and you've got no chance of getting people like me on board.

"That's our beautiful democracy in action."

But we're not a democracy

We're not a pure Democracy but we are a democracy.

K-

Let me help you out with some of your analysis that may be slightly off.

New Jersey: Republicans can win NJ--especially McCain. He only lost the 15 electoral votes by 500,000. He didn't dump a dime in a state that had and has great fundraising potential. Also, the main centers for Dems are Camden and Newark/Hudson county. Those areas do not have the required infrastructure for Dems to pull out their vote, like Philly. BTW, Bush did take NJ in '88.

Penn: Of course we can take Pennsylvania but I agree that McCain poured money in late. The reason it was Penn and not Michigan was because he had a better chance to take the swing voters. Also, Penn had a few more votes, 21, than Michigan. It may not seem like a big difference but if you look at the electoral math it would be needed to add up to 270.

Why Penn and not NJ? Because of Lautenberg--the senate race would have worked to hurt McCain's chances.

As far as the west anaylsis I agree with you, I'm sure that comes as a great relief to you. :-)

Virginia: If you spend time in the DC area you know why Viriginia is in play for the Dems. The overflow of caffe latte liberals from the DC metro area. Virigina was hard fought by McCain this year. Everyone can agree that McCain set up his bunker and fought to the end in that state.

I think McCain got beat for four reasons:

1.) The Republican brand was irreparably damaged by the current White House occupant and drunken sailorism of the D.C. GOP from 2000-2006.

2.) McCain thought he could thumb the base in the eye from 2000-2007, show up with some flowers, and *poof* he'd have the same ground game as Dubya did in 2000 and 2004. Um, no.

3.) Obama is a smooth operator and gifted orator. Acknowledging that doesn't mean I think he's going to be a good President. However, not acknowledging that the guy has the gift of the golden tongue means that the GOP will be waking up alone, naked, thoroughly ravished, and upset next election too. ("I thought he said I was special..." *sob*)

4.) Lastly, and most importantly, there was too much focus on "the press hates me!" or "you're being unfair!" by the McCain campaign. (Crazy analogy to follow.) Look, McCain had two choices in February when it was apparent that the press was going to do everything but take a TOW to the Straight Talk Express for Obama:

Option A: Sound like the spurned, bitter, ex-wife who got dumped for a younger model or...

Option B: Take the bast*rd (in this case, the press) to divorce court (the people), rip his nuts off (win the election), and then nail the bloody package to the front door of what used to be "our" but is now "your" house (ruthlessly mock press, pundits, etc. even as you kick their papers off Air Force One for the duration of your term).

B+: If he wanted to put a little shine on it, he could have even called the strumpet in Chief (Katie Couric) and tell her where she could get the cojones in question (allow Katie to give the first exclusive interview...in the Oval Office...with the Presidential Seal prominently visible without).

McCain chose to sound like a bitter old hag--and that's why he's living in some roach infested apartment (going back to the Senate) with no spousal maintenance, all the old furniture, and the snotty nosed kids instead of in aforementioned residence (the White House) with a hefty 4-figure child support check. Er, not that I'm related to an expert divorce attorney or anything.

Bottom line: The Republicans need to hire a fighter for the next dance. Not a pseudo fighter who says, "My friends..." and tries to make nice, but the kind of fighter that makes the other side find the nearest available exit rather than start the dance of sorrow (Merc 2 shout out) mix tape. The type of person who not only believes in conservative values, but can espouse them in a coherent manner and is not afraid of being called a racist, sexist, whatever -ist when they do so. Indeed, who revels in being called these things as it's a clear indicator that he's found a pressure point, and it's time for ye olde nerve junction to be pressed until someone says uncle or simply chokes to death on their own spittle because they can no longer make their throat muscles function. Who, as they drop their rhetorical victim, is gracious as they know they've totally won.

Now, I'm not sure the GOP has that sort of person in their ranks. I think a Tom Coburn run would be interesting...but I don't know how that would play in a lot of states. Maybe after 4 years of Hope, Change, and Redistribution the nation would be ready.

P.S. Virginia was in play about as much as the Cowboys have a chance of winning the Super Bowl. Much like the much despised Starboys, the GOP had no ground game in Virginia. On the other hand, I know of at least 3 very rabid Obama supporters who spent all of yesterday driving people to the polls, staying in touch with folks they had registered, etc., etc.--and they were far from alone.

Taking a page from the Moonbats playbook and insulting people as "latte liberals" is sure to backfire. Is there spillover? Yeah. On the other hand, there are A LOT of Virginians who voted for the Big O simply because he wasn't a Republican and they felt the party had lost its way. Maybe figuring out a message to reach those folks may pay dividends...

"the GOP had no ground game in Virginia"--
that's where McCains HQ was located, it was his main base of ops. anyone who checked in at any minute of the day saw a full house. lawyers for McCain hit that state extra hard and I mean really hard.

Karol, dreat post. Many others too. There's a line in the film "Mean girls", which says something like 'pointing out how ugly she was wasn't going to make me any smarter or prettier'
It strikes me that there are people who are aghast that republicanism has lost brand loyalty.

Also, 3 months ago Iraq was the biggest priority of the polled electorate, and 3 weeks ago it was the economy. The campaign seemed to lack the manoevreability to cope with this.
I contend that, with the base behind him (which it wasn't) McCain could have won the rest over, but instead of being the measured guy who delivered that concession speech, he just seemed an angry old man.

You're whistling past the graveyard. The left will use the next for years to open the borders even more, silence the opposition, and increase their base of francised felons, "students", and union thugs. Between gerrymandering and changes in election laws, they will guarantee one party rule forever.
THAT'S your change!

How do you propose "selling it" to the masses when every inch of imagery from TV to print and movies is impregnated with Godless socialism with its envy of the producers and titilation of the sexual hedonists and deviants who murder their inconvenient mistakes as punishment?

In short - how do you propose even geting the proverbial sales -"foot in the door?"

Full disclosure: Almost my entire maternal side of the family lives in Virginia along with several good friends in the area. As I said, 3 of them are rabid Obama supporters. Several were apathetic. 2 of them are, shall we say, somewhere to the right of our hostess.

All of them either participated in or reported massive Obama activity. The 2 who most definitely did _not_ vote for Obama did so with great disgust while asking, "Where are McCain's folks?!"

Now, just because a HQ is bustling doesn't mean that there's actually anything going on in the sharp end. Heck, McCain claimed to have a good ground game in Missouri--let me tell you, he won the state simply because the base turned out to stop Obama, not due to his efforts.

Admittedly I have a narrow window (in VA much more than MO--I'm a native of the latter and right next door), but I'm saying from _my_ observations and compared to what I was hearing about Bush in 2000 and 2004 McCain had very little ground game in either state.

If someone who actually lived in Virginia observed differently, I stand corrected. But I'm not sure I'm going to go with HQ (these folks are paid to look busy and, hey, it's not like McCain hadn't fired people before) as evidence of effective energy.

Agreed with all but the respect Barry stuff...nope ain't gonna do it. I got my rights to fuss for 4 years (I hope it's only 4) and I'm ascertin'em. As an adopted Virginian I can tell you why we lost VA and probably won't get it back. Northern VA is where all the beltway people live and work and vote...more government, more libs in northern VA. Less military...less conservatives or military supporters to vote in southern VA. Better to concentrate on other states.

In short - how do you propose even geting the proverbial sales -"foot in the door?"

I'm a little election-ed out but I'm going to try to write another post in the next few days that the conservative movement's philosophy should always be: What Would Reagan Do?

When Reagan lost to Ford in 1976 and Ford went on to lose to lightweight Carter (which is SOOOOOO reminiscent of this election), what did Reagan do? Stay tuned to find out.

First of all, conservatives DID NOT select McCain. It was "moderates" and other cross-over liberals who made a concerted effort in the initial open primaries and caucuses (caucii?). If we want to keep that from happening again, Republicans need to end this practice and allow only registered Republicans to vote in the primaries. Just because someone is too "independent" to choose a party doesn't mean they get to make me dependent on their choice for my party!

We're not a pure Democracy but we are a democracy.

Correct in the sense of what the country has degenerated into, but not what the country was set up to be. The Constitution established us as a republic, under which government cannot tread upon individual rights -- no matter how overwhelming a majority vote can be. In a democracy, majority rule goes.

Don, interesting point. A lot of faith in the USA, but many disagreable agendas pushed by TV. Personally, I watched "Bratz" once with my neices, and realised it was just a show to make kids want to shop for crap their parents couldn't afford. I'm sure you have many others.

Hi Karol... long time, no read.
Something else to think about... Obama only got 52%. This was not a mandate. Nor was it a landslide like some of the moronic media types are saying. They (libs, dems & whoever is pulling the strings for the puppet, Obama) only won a "controlling interest." McMaveric McCain turned off a lot of conservative voters who would have normally voted for a Republican candidate. I know many such conservatives. They either stayed home or voted for an independent.

OK, I realize it's a generalization, but I truly don't like you calling liberals "dumb" or "animals" or "retards." I am a liberal, at least I guess I would be as you qualify the term "liberal." I'm pretty sure you wouldn't consider me an animal or a retard or dumb if you met me. I'm pretty positive I wouldn't think that of you from what I've heard, but your writing says otherwise.

It's three days since I read this and it still bothers me. I've tried to re-read this, because I think you have some valid comments here and I'd like to consider it, but your name-calling makes it impossible for me to hear your words on a rational level. I'm open to what you have to say, but I can't be while you're calling me and my friends names. Does that make sense?

If not, oh well - I gave it a shot.

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