2008 Election Review
The Election is over and the worst has happened. The Republicans got what they deserved. John McCain’s campaign was run by boobs. The Obama campaign was very good and they benefitted from every media outlet not named Fox News having a collective thrill run up their legs at the idea of Sen. Obama being elected. And all of this coalesced at just the wrong moment in time leading to a tidal wave of voters dissatisfied with the way things turning to the Democrats. So it’s time for an election recap and then I’ll move on to using this space for discussing ideas for the future.
The McCain campaign -- what a bunch of boobs. I’m not talking about Senator McCain here – he was magnificent. He provided leadership, he overcame disaster in 2007 – when his campaign was nearly bankrupt and he fired key campaign leaders -- to defy all the odds and win the Republican nomination. Then he overcame the odds again in the summer of 2008 to go from way behind Senator Obama to actually take the lead in August. Furthermore, his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate was a magnificent stroke.
Unfortunately, his campaign let him down. The McCain campaign squandered their candidate’s very impressive performances throughout the campaign season. He gave great speeches. He showed courage during the time when the bailout legislation was being considered. He worked tirelessly.
The McCain campaign staff never came up with a positive theme. They were hapless during the economic crisis. The McCain campaign staff was unable through all of this to find a message that worked until the fluke of “Joe the Plumber” dropped right in their laps.
Prior to that, while the economy was crumbling, the McCain campaign officials were running ads criticizing Barack Obama’s relationship to Bill Ayers – an important point to be sure, but one that was not going to get attention when the stock market is dropping over 500 points every day.
Even the Joe the Plumber message, while it resonated, did not represent any positive thought. It was a criticism of Sen. Barack Obama’s ideas for solving the economic crisis. The McCain campaign, like the Republican Congress, did not know how to generate positive ideas. These Washington insiders fell back on the crutch they have been using for almost a decade – criticize your opponent.
And, at the end, when defeat seemed likely they did the other thing they are very good at, they pointed fingers at other people. They blamed the campaign’s woes on someone else. In this case that someone else was Sarah Palin.
The McCain campaign people badly overprotected and mishandled Governor Palin, treating her like she was the second coming of Dan Quayle. They squandered a tremendous asset – a Governor with great personality, great campaign skills, and an impressive resume if presented correctly.
Then to say that Sarah Palin - a Vice Presidential candidate - cost John McCain the White House -- are you kidding me?!
Sadly, that behavior summarizes what the McCain campaign officials were like.
Until next time, be well!
The Election is over and the worst has happened. The Republicans got what they deserved. John McCain’s campaign was run by boobs. The Obama campaign was very good and they benefitted from every media outlet not named Fox News having a collective thrill run up their legs at the idea of Sen. Obama being elected. And all of this coalesced at just the wrong moment in time leading to a tidal wave of voters dissatisfied with the way things turning to the Democrats. So it’s time for an election recap and then I’ll move on to using this space for discussing ideas for the future.
The McCain campaign -- what a bunch of boobs. I’m not talking about Senator McCain here – he was magnificent. He provided leadership, he overcame disaster in 2007 – when his campaign was nearly bankrupt and he fired key campaign leaders -- to defy all the odds and win the Republican nomination. Then he overcame the odds again in the summer of 2008 to go from way behind Senator Obama to actually take the lead in August. Furthermore, his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate was a magnificent stroke.
Unfortunately, his campaign let him down. The McCain campaign squandered their candidate’s very impressive performances throughout the campaign season. He gave great speeches. He showed courage during the time when the bailout legislation was being considered. He worked tirelessly.
The McCain campaign staff never came up with a positive theme. They were hapless during the economic crisis. The McCain campaign staff was unable through all of this to find a message that worked until the fluke of “Joe the Plumber” dropped right in their laps.
Prior to that, while the economy was crumbling, the McCain campaign officials were running ads criticizing Barack Obama’s relationship to Bill Ayers – an important point to be sure, but one that was not going to get attention when the stock market is dropping over 500 points every day.
Even the Joe the Plumber message, while it resonated, did not represent any positive thought. It was a criticism of Sen. Barack Obama’s ideas for solving the economic crisis. The McCain campaign, like the Republican Congress, did not know how to generate positive ideas. These Washington insiders fell back on the crutch they have been using for almost a decade – criticize your opponent.
And, at the end, when defeat seemed likely they did the other thing they are very good at, they pointed fingers at other people. They blamed the campaign’s woes on someone else. In this case that someone else was Sarah Palin.
The McCain campaign people badly overprotected and mishandled Governor Palin, treating her like she was the second coming of Dan Quayle. They squandered a tremendous asset – a Governor with great personality, great campaign skills, and an impressive resume if presented correctly.
Then to say that Sarah Palin - a Vice Presidential candidate - cost John McCain the White House -- are you kidding me?!
Sadly, that behavior summarizes what the McCain campaign officials were like.
Until next time, be well!
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