Why Obama won

[Elizabeth I]

A good amount of Americans are very ignorant.

Case in point: it's "A good number of Americans..." Items which can be counted (people, parakeets, buttons, Hershey kisses) form "a good number;" substances which cannot be counted (water, mustard, snow, mud) form "a good amount."

Palin did her best the appeal to them. In the end it wasn't enough.

I can't tell you how many people who were wavering between the two candidates told me Palin was the thing that put them over the top for Obama.

 

[Meadmaker]

I don't know if there was "a" cause, but the day Hank Paulson went up to Capitol Hill and said, "Pardon, me, fellas, but I really need 700 billion dollars," I said, in reference to the McCain campaign, "Stick a fork in it. It's done."

 

[Slayhamlet]

I can't tell you how many people who were wavering between the two candidates told me Palin was the thing that put them over the top for Obama.

You can add one more to you list. Palin has been an absolute disaster for the McCain campaign. He didn't need to solidify his base, he needed to convince the moderates.

 

[Policenaut]

You can add one more to you list. Palin has been an absolute disaster for the McCain campaign. He didn't need to solidify his base, he needed to convince the moderates.

I think you underestimate how much a lot of republicans hated McCain. It's even more obvious now that McCain wasn't even invited to the CPAC but Palin was. And people seem to forget that McCain was ahead after his convention, fell off a bit afterward and went for the final nosedive after the economic armageddon and never came back up in the polls.

 

[Tricky]

It's the economy, stupid.

 

[davefoc]

Isn't CPAC where Ann Coulter made her homophobic comments about Kerry?

Nice group. And being invited to attend a convention where people think that insulting gays is funny is seen as a stepping stone to a national political career? Maybe one of the reasons that McCain had any chance at all is that he wouldn't be invited to a meeting with this bunch of bozos.

 

[Tricky]

Isn't CPAC where Ann Coulter made her homophobic comments about Kerry?

Kerry too? I remember Edwards, but not Kerry.

 

[Policenaut]

Actually I thought CPAC was something else. Oh well. But still it shows that the true repubs didn't like him and were never fully invested in him.

 

[davefoc]

Kerry too? I remember Edwards, but not Kerry.

Yeh, I probably just made a mistake. At the time I remember being amazed that big time politicians would have been willing to associate themselves with a slime ball like Coulter and this little incident would do her in. My understanding about what the Republican Party was really like was slow to develop and was hampered along the way by excessive naiveté on my part.

 

[Tricky]

Yeh, I probably just made a mistake. At the time I remember being amazed that big time politicians would have been willing to associate themselves with a slime ball like Coulter and this little incident would do her in. My understanding about what the Republican Party was really like was slow to develop and was hampered along the way by excessive naiveté on my part.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Coulter is such a slimeball that no Republican would dare quote her.

Out of sick, train-wreck curiosity, I just looked at her post-election column (I'd link it, but I'd be afraid of dissolving the forum in acidic slime). Of course, she's mad. But interstingly, much of her anger is directed at McCain for not being vicious enough. Palin, she absolutely loves. Her kinda woman.

 

[peptoabysmal]

McCain ran a truly abysmal campaign. Not that I mind that. The economy was the last straw. We are in deep doo-doo when the government can actuallly fix the economy. Here's to hoping... cheers!

 

[Sword_Of_Truth]

I can explain the Obama victory in two words: Economic Crisis.

McCain was ahead of Obama when the market crashed and he simply never recovered. It was the best 3 trillion dollars of Obama campaign advertising that the American people paid for.

If Lehman Brothers were able to cook their books and hold on for just another six weeks, you'd all be checking into Bellvue with terminal cases of Palin Derangement Syndrome right now.

 

[SezMe]

Here is what I think are the primary reasons Obama won (unresearched):

1. He is black. Most black people voted for him simply because of the color of his skin. Many did not even know the issues involved.

2. It was "cool" or "hip" among young people to vote for him (And the older crowd for that matter). Again, many young people had no idea of the issues. They go off of what they see on the Daily Show and in the news.

3. Liberal media pushed Obama much more than McCain. (For young people especially, MTV and BET only advertised for Obama).

4. Obama actually did have a very effective campaign strategy.

5. A good amount of Americans are very ignorant.

1, 2 and 5 are all statements that voters are ignorant. Arguably 3 could also be put in that category. So basically you believe that people who don't think like you do are ignorant. Got it. The only redeeming observation I can make is that you do not appear to have a corner on the arrogance market.

 

[SezMe]

This is why.

Your posts are as inane as the statements of your namesake. Jan. 20, 2009 cannot come too soon for both of you.

 

[Ausmerican]

I can explain the Obama victory in two words: Economic Crisis.

McCain was ahead of Obama when the market crashed and he simply never recovered. It was the best 3 trillion dollars of Obama campaign advertising that the American people paid for.

If Lehman Brothers were able to cook their books and hold on for just another six weeks, you'd all be checking into Bellvue with terminal cases of Palin Derangement Syndrome right now.

Yeah right keep telling yourself that.

The week of September 8-14 McCain was ahead for the first time – but by only one point. Obama reclaimed a one-point lead the following week. Basically the race was tied going into the last six weeks of the campaign.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/pub.../mccain_s_fortunes_fell_with_the_stock_market

Please explain how, if this financial collapse WASN'T the republicans fault, why it was only damaging to them. And if it was their fault, why would they deserve to win?

 

[Ausmerican]

there are plenty of informed intelligent voters who wanted McCain and plenty of uninformed voters who wanted Obama.
And
there are plenty of informed intelligent voters who wanted Obama and plenty of uninformed voters who wanted McCain.

Neither party has the market cornered on informed voters or uninformed voters

Yes this is totally true. However it is interesting that you didn't choose to post it in response to the original poster that made such a ridiculous blanket accusation. Instead you posted it in response to a semi humorous rebuttal of same.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

There are many factors for Obama's win or McCain's loss, but I think if you put it in a nutshell you get: Hope vs. Fear

I think Fear is more powerful than Hope. Bush, most Republicans, and even many Democrats, for decades have won elections based on Fear. Fear works. However, Fear generally benefits those that caused the Fear, and not those that became fearfull. Fear divides.

Obama gave a new message: Hope. Hope is a hard sell. Fear is now. Hope is the future. You can promise the Now, but you can't promise the Future. So, Hope is not as strong as Fear.

Many people became sick of Fear, because it has not worked. So there must be a Unity of Change for Hope. Obama nailed all those key words. He can support those words with his experience and proven commitment. And he can convey that message with his charisma and spirit of community service.

 

[volatile]

Out of sick, train-wreck curiosity, I just looked at her post-election column (I'd link it, but I'd be afraid of dissolving the forum in acidic slime). Of course, she's mad. But interstingly, much of her anger is directed at McCain for not being vicious enough. Palin, she absolutely loves. Her kinda woman.

Whoa.... I just read it.

Who pays that woman to write? She can barely string a thought together, let alone a sentence, with all that froth foaming at the corner of her mouth. She's absolutely, certifiably insane.

 

[President Bush]

Your posts are as inane as the statements of your namesake. Jan. 20, 2009 cannot come too soon for both of you.

The only redeeming observation I can make is that you do not appear to have a corner on the arrogance market.

 

[JWideman]

Because, while racism in the US is still alive and well, we as a nation have learned to judge a person by his character rather than the color of his skin.