30 Reasons Why McCain Lost

1. All summer, McCain kept insisting that "The fundamentals of the economy are strong." Then in September, Wall Street fell apart.
   
2. Eight years of Bush and Cheney.
3. McCain was badly overmanaged by his advisors, something that hurt Al Gore in 2000.
   
4. Conservative moderates and independents were turned off by McCain's choice to take a classic, hard-right tone.
5. Erratic debate performances.
6. Horrid speechwriters.
7. McCain's "campaign suspension" during the Wall Street meltdown came off as an awkward PR stunt, and contrasted with Obama's cooler response.
   
8. He badly underestimated Obama's ground game.
9. Carly Fiorino and Phil Gramm.
10. McCain's Jekyll & Hyde temperament.
11. Iraq War fatigue.
12. McCain's mad dog-like posturing after the Russian invasion of Georgia.
    
13. Two words: "My friends."
14. Voters ignored McCain's negative ads (and those of 527 groups) on Obama's old associations.
    
15. The long primary fight between Obama and Hillary Clinton denied McCain a single target his campaign could build a case against.
    
16. Propping up the media as a straw man never clicked outside his base.
    
17. The autumn plunge in oil prices negated his "Drill, baby. Drill" argument.
    
18. Formerly reliable social conservative wedge issues like gay marriage were overshadowed by the economy.
    
19. McCain hired the same political hitmen (e.g. Tucker Eskew) that Bush used to slime him in 2000. The result made McCain look like someone who was willing to compromise his own dignity to win.
    
20. Bloggers posting video of ugly behavior at McCain rallies (e.g. Crazy McCain Lady, racism) did not cast the campaign in a good light.
    
21. McCain's fundraising never took off.
    
22. McCain often wasted time stumping in states he either had locked up (Tennessee), or didn't have a chance to win (Iowa, California).
    
23. Using blue-collar workers as populist superheroes (e.g. Tito The Laborer, Joe The Plumber) soon became a public joke, especially when Joe Werzelbacher—who wasn't even a licensed plumber—began fielding questions at McCain events about US-Israeli policy.
    
24. The government's $700B bank bailout undermined McCain's "Obama is a Socialist" argument.
    
25. Though understandable, the physical toll of the campaign on McCain became visible down the stretch.
    
26. McCain took strategic advice from Sean Hannity.
    
27. Voter concerns about McCain's age and health.
28. When Team McCain had to put on a unified face in its final weeks, it suffered from internal squabbling.
29. McCain co-managers Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis never shifted beyond the Rovian model of stoking the base, which does not work in elections that are not extremely tight (a la Gore, Kerry).
30. Finally, McCain picked Sarah Palin as his VP, who was completely unprepared for the national stage.

Post-Game Show

Beside the Apollo 11 moon landing and 9-11, Barack Obama's election as president last night was among the most historic events to occur in my lifetime (thus far).

Just watching the energy of his win boil across Grant Park--then the country, and the world—was incredible. Obama's critics can downplay his appeal as much as they want; he is no Messiah, he is a leader.

For his part, John McCain—whacked in the electoral college—was a gracious runner-up. Despite the many flaws of his campaign, none can dismiss McCain's service to this country.

As for Caribou Barbie, after coming off as so cocky in the RNC convention, it was a pleasure seeing her served a two-ton dollop of humility.

How's it feel to get pwned by a community organizer, guv?

Otherwise, here a few more follow-ups:

Joe The Plumber - Your 15 minutes expired three weeks ago. Go home and get a fucking job.

Joe Biden – Enjoy your new digs at the Naval Observatory. However, I think it would be best for everyone if you kept quiet for the next four years.

The Obama Kids – Have fun, and consider adopting your new White House dog from a local area shelter.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney – Get the fuck out now. You needn't wait until January 20th. Just go. We'll mail you your stuff. As is, Obama's going to have to kill 25 chickens in the Oval Office to rid the place of your bad mojo.

Barney and Beasley Bush – You can stick around.

Joe Lieberman – How's it feel to be fresh out of friends?

Sean Hannity – I'll give it to you, Slanthead. Your constant attempts to tar Obama with lame associations from Bill Ayres to his third-grade commie math teacher were tireless, and all for naught. But don't worry – they'll be more than enough crap that you and Mark Levin can still hurl at Obama from your foxhole in future days.

Rush Limbaugh – Having listened to you off and on during the final weeks of the election, I must say your attacks on Obama—and water-toting for McCain and Palin--were extremely weak. All those drugs you popped must have addled your brain worse than we thought.

Jerome Corsi – You are a sad, pathetic, 300-pound man.

Sen. Libby "Godless Americans" Dole (R-NC) – I am delighted that you lost. Your last-ditch tactics against Kay Hagen were revolting.

Utah-based opponents of California's Proposition 8 (Barring Gay Marriage) – Congratulations. Let homophobia ring.

The Voters of Alaska (Re: The Re-Election of Newly-Minted Felon Ted Stevens) – What the hell is wrong with you people? Seriously.

Jim Oberweis – Gee, you just can't buy an election can you?

Hello History

Wow.

It's Over

The cable news networks may be too hesitant to do it right now, but I will: Obama has won the presidential election.

As of this moment, he’s at 200 electoral votes including big wins in PA and OH. That means all Obama need do now is take CA, OR, WA, and HI (all states polling heavily in his favor) to eclipse the 270 mark to win.

Now the only question is if will Obama also take NC, CO, and FL (with VA being surprisingly tight) to reclassify his campaign from victory to blowout.

But you can book it: Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

Final Map 2008

Okay, here’s my final projection for what the Electoral College map will look like on late Tuesday night, early Wednesday morning.

Although Obama is narrowly up in Florida, I think that McCain is going to squeak out a win there. If not, he’s cooked. Otherwise, barring a massive swell in McCain’s support with undecided voters, I have a difficult time seeing how he can possibly counter Obama’s presence in red states like VA and CO.

Thus, I’m giving Obama a 311-227 win.

A Very Brief Review: "Changeling"

Although not quite perfect, Clint Eastwood’s “Changeling” is among the best true crime stories I have seen put to film – and considering the film clocks in at 2:20, that’s no small feat.

Written by JMS, “Changeling” stars Angelina Jolie who is very good as Christine Collins, a single mother circa 1928 Los Angeles whose young son, Walter, suddenly goes missing. Naturally, Mrs. Collins’ first impulse is to call the police, who inform her they do not respond to missing persons cases until 24 hours have elapsed.

However, when Walter still hasn’t shown up the next day, the LAPD takes Mrs. Collins’ statement in a way that is less than respectful. Three months later, the cops then contact Mrs. Collins at her place of business, and inform her that her son has been recovered in Illinois, and is returning home by train. But when Mrs. Collins goes to meet who she expects is Walter, another boy has been put in his place.

Initially, Mrs. Collins claims the boy is not her son, but faced with reams of bad press over police corruption in LA—spearheaded by a media-savvy local minister played by John Malkovich—the cops insist no mistake has been made, and that Mrs. Collins is obviously suffering from the shock of losing her son for three months.

The rest of “Changeling” plays off of this set-up, and develops from an odd mystery to a very gritty crime tale that has somewhat of an uplifting conclusion, but only somewhat.

In all, I enjoyed the film much better than I expected I would. It is also perhaps the best picture that Clint Eastwood has ever directed.

The GOP Has Officially Gone Insane