Pajamas Media

103 Comments

1. Marc Malone:

No big deal, really, since McCain would’ve lost the race anyway. Instructionally, it’s because the Pubs didn’t much get behind McCain until his pick of Palin. He had months free to operate, but his fundraising was pitiful during the Spring and Summer.

Nov 7, 2008 - 2:53 am 2. Kathy L.:

Obama bought his way into the White House, with fraudulent campaign donations, thugs from ACORN who perpetrated fraulent voter registration, voter fraud, especially in the swing States, and unfortunately, it worked. I don’t care what anyone says. There is no way these actions can be condoned. The Dems/Libs were so eager to get their guy into the White House, they sold their souls to the devil. Well, a dirt sandwich has been voted into the White House. Unfortunately, everyone, even upstanding citizens who supported McCain/Palin, will have to take a bite. By the time Republicans come back into power, (if indeed with all the corruption the Dems will unleash, they ever do), I hope there is something left of our country to salvage. If Obama had won fair and square, I would be the first person to congratulate him. Unfortunately, with all the fraud involved in his campaign, I cannot do that.

Nov 7, 2008 - 4:15 am 3. David:

Buck up, Kathy , four years from now we’ll have a guy who’ll run on “hope” and we can vote again. Until then, keep the faith. It’s human to feel disappointment. This too shall pass.

Nov 7, 2008 - 5:04 am 4. Betty C.:

I am still quite stunned myself but I will share a little (true) story with you:

While talking to a moderately conservative colleague yesterday about the election outcome, I realized that she (an Obama supporter) did not know a whole lot about Obama’s extreme liberal stands/policies or his sketchy associations. When I casually mentioned some of these to her, she looked genuinely surprised and asked, “How come they did not publicize this in the news?” I politely informed her that I had read on Obama facts extensively on some non-stream publications, blogs, international newspapers and, to some extent, Fox News. Then I made a comment that, in my opinion, the media may have been “slightly” biased in the coverage of this election (among many other things), my colleague proceded to innocently tell me that she always thought the media was biased the other way (meaning toward McCain) and cited Fox News as an example. She could also cite sevelar of Sarah Palin’s mispoken words but could not come up with a single of Joe Biden’s or Obama’s numerous gaffes.

I must clarify that this is a middle-aged married, church-going, midwestern woman whom I believe holds strong family and conservative social values. (In other words, she is by no means a raging liberal.) She explained her vote for Obama to me by saying that “he seems like such a smart, MODERATE, and good-willing young man who has the country’s best interest at heart.”

If she represents many other middle Americans who went to the polls then this might help to partly explain “what went wrong.” This represents the amazings that the MSM has done to Americans by witholding certain truths and exaggerating other bits of information to paint a certain picture of each presidential candidate that “stuck” with the average American who does not read blogs or any international newspapers and has been convinced that Fox News is nothing but right-wing propaganda. If that is all the information you are getting, then, what are you going to believe?

I know the bias in the MSM is not news to anyone who consistently reads this site but I was personally hopeful that some people (especially in states like Indiana who have traditionally been red) would still manage to be better informed or use their “gut instict” when going to the polls. The facts prove me wrong and I believe the election outcomes are, to a big extent, a reflection of the overwhelming and far-reaching influence that the media has on every single American at the present.

I wish Obama the best and I will continue to hope(and as a religious person) pray that he does what is best for our country. Although I am disappointed (and still getting over what I consider a devastating and potentially dangerous loss), I see no option but to move forward. This is the time to examine what our options as constituents are and support our president in making choices that represent our values and beliefs. This may sound terribly naive, but I really think we need to be positive and hope (and for those who have faith, pray) for the best over the next four (maybe eight) years. No matter the recent election results, America continues to be the most blessed country in the world.

Nov 7, 2008 - 5:24 am 5. Cal:

Betty, your story is all too common. Combine Obama’s money and voter fraud with the most ignorant electorate in US history, and you get the least experienced president in US history — at our most important hour.

I actually read some article that said collegians boosted Obama over the top. This article’s writer was so thrilled by it, and I’m thinking, is there any group who knows LESS about the world than college kids? Should a candidate for president be proud to have the most naive among us give him victory? For Obama, I guess it is.

Lord help us. Hopefully he will do well, but it could be a difficult four years.

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:01 am 6. Saltherring:

Betty C @ 4:

With all due respect to your colleague, there was (and is) no excuse for being ill-informed. The facts regarding Obama’s stated views and questionable associations were out there months prior to the election. In this day and age only the lazy and foolish rely on the heavily biased mainstream print and television media for fact and substance. Your colleague is either more liberal than she admits, or she bought the “hope and change” gibberish…hook, line and sinker. In any case, her and millions of fools like her have voted this nation into an unprecedented and perilous position, one we will certainly regret, and may never fully recover from.

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:19 am 7. Justin Davidson:

Excellent analysis. It really would have been interesting to see how the election would have played out had the economic meltdown not happened – definitely a lot closer and states like Indiana most certainly would have stayed Red.

Regardless of whether you voted for McCain or Obama, one thing is clear: people are united in their dissatisfation with the state of the country right now, and the election results show that there is a decidedly strong majority of people (both traditionally Red and Blue) who are willing to cast aside their original political persuasions and back our President-elect and see what he can do. The pressure’s on for Obama and his administration, and I think it’s safe to say that the state of the Republican party over the next 8 years largely depends on what Obama and the Dems can do in the next two years before the midterm elections.

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:41 am 8. Pay Leahy:

The theme in all the Swing states is $. The man bought his way in. If this was the other way around, the Liberal Lemmings would be crying “Fat Cat GOP corporate $ bought the election.”

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:43 am 9. jerryofva:

I can’t really disagree with the article in tone but I am convinced that given the closeness of the vote in Indiana that fraud put him over the top in the state. Late returns from Lake County also carried Obama over Clinton in the primary. When an urbanized county like Lake County comes in late to just deliver the state then fraud is the most likely reason.

Obama wins with or without Indiana and as I said in Rick Moran’s thread yesterday we shouldn’t go into the we was robbed mode but we need to continue to acknowledge that Chicago fraud and electoral corruption are becoming well entrenched in Obama’s America.

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:43 am 10. CruzanNM:

Well, I think it was a foregone conclusion that Obama would win this election, the question left was by how much. And he didn’t win by ‘that much’. Let’s also remember that McCain wasn’t the most ‘republican’ candidate out there, just the one that survived the media onslaught and politics of personal destruction.

And, yes, between the corruption of the media, the fraud taking place in voter registrations and balloting, Obama’s win will remain a questionable event. What’s sad is that because he won, and the liberal/marxists won so big in congress, not one single investigation will ever be started into the ACORN involvement in this election. And by not doing so, the precedent has been set for future elections. That is, in my opinion, the worst thing that happened this week. Our electoral process has been corrupted and may never be repaired. I think that is evident in IN, NC, VA, happening right now in the senate races pending in MN, GA and the loss (?) for Smith in OR. Dirty politics corrupt.

But, we can HOPE for CHANGE soon.

And Ari……..just for your information, there are no ‘former’ Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:57 am 11. Cal:

On bias, aside from reports than more than 85% of “journalists” voted for Obama, every non-partisan study showed the bias, especially at MSNBC, toward Obama was record-breaking. Here is just one:

http://www.journalism.org/node/13436

Every Obama supporter can tell how cliches about McCain’s houses and Palin’s hunting, but have no idea who Obama’s terrorist friends are, his past writing, his and Biden’s hundreds of gaffes and so on.

I’d like them just to at least admit they voted on emotion and because of his skin color (Obama’s best asset)

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:58 am 12. AnninCA:

Marc, your point about McCain and the Republicans having all spring and summer to raise money is so true. Until McCain picked Palin, the base simply wasn’t enthusiastic enough to work for his election. They let valuable time slip through their fingers.

Palin brought the campaign much-needed enthusiasm, so I never really understood why some of the conservatives jumped on the smear bandwagon.

It just didn’t seem like Republicans had much will to win this year.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:05 am 13. Beth Barnat:

I am a Hoosier in exile in the Socialist State of California. I was so disappointed that BO won the election, but when I saw that my home state of Indiana turned blue (very few blue counties actually – mostly Gary, IN area), my heart was broken.

I am outraged and insulted that the majority of Americans elected this fraud, Obama. He is not my president and never will be.

For eight years we Republicans have had to endure the most horrible insults and misinformation, lies and slander being spread by the MSM and the lunatic, godless left, who out of a high fever caused by Bush Derangement Syndrome, voted this dangerous clown into office.

I hope that Obama is totally humbled by the immensity of the job that he now has been elected for and I hope that Obama is trembling with fear, knowing that he is horribly unprepared to take this job on.

I hope and pray that he is brought to his knees before the one and true Almighty God to seek guidance and help for a position that is “above his pay grade.”

Perhaps in the coming weeks he will begin to find a smidgeon of respect for a man who has kept our country safe for eight years, and who, in the face of intense and unrelenting criticism, has never once reacted with anger or defensiveness, but has always allowed people to have their right to freedom of speech.

I think we are coming in for a time when those who longed to have George W. Bush out of office and back in Texas, will long for the days when he graced the Oval Office as our President.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:10 am 14. AnninCA:

Cal, I think the exit polls showed that race was an important factor, and that was from people who voted for Obama. Nobody hid it. In fact, it’s the opposite of what the media was hollaring about all year. It was, in point of fact, exactly what Ferarro suggested. This was the year of the AA man.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:12 am 15. Blossom:

As usual Ari Kaufman has done a masterful job in summarizing the picture of Indiana. However, I also agree with Betty C. that there is a large segment of the population who for whatever reason are simply uninformed about the candidates. Slathering says they are lazy and foolish. I don’t agree completely. I know many people who are simply “turned off” by politics in general, won’t bother to vote, or if they do, base their vote on the candidates looks, fame or notoriety, or a talk show host’s ideas.
How else can we explain the Jerry Springers or Al Frankens, or even the gals who cooed “oh, he’s so cute” about bill clinton back in 1992?
As an Ohio resident I looked at the county map for this state. At first glance it appeared to be all red but for the outline up near the lake.This would encompass Cleveland, Akron, Toledo …all big cities where the celebrations were the same as those in Indianapolis. Finally I notice 3 other spots which , sure enough, were Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton. So while 90% of the land mass holds Republicans, the big cities go Democrat. I too am deeply disappointed in the results but having lived through Nixon, Carter, Clinton et al. , I know our country will survive. I hope it will be even stronger next time around.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:22 am 16. Stefon:

HATE ON!!! OBAMA COULD HAVE WON WITHOUT INDIANA, OHIO, NC OR VIRGINIA!!! AND ITS FRAUD!!! WASHINGTON GONE BE BLUE FOR A LONG TIME!!! GOD BLESS AMERICA HE SURE WAS LOOKING OUT FOR IT ON NOV. 4!!!

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:21 am 17. Huey:

Do you think Micky Mouse come to vote for Obama?
Do you think Obama buy his way to White House?
Little people like me donate money and come out to do vounteer work for him, because I think he will do great thing for THIS GREAT COUNTRY. I do believe President Bush is a good person and tries his best to do great things for us,too.
But sometimes it just does not work out.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:23 am 18. Stefon:

AND P.S. IMMA COLLEGE STUDENT WHO HAS CREDIT DEBT, BILLS TUTITION AND I DONATED TO OBAMA REGARDLESS. ITS TIME FOR A CHANGE IF ALL WHITE FOLKS WANNA SAY HE WON BECAUSE OF HIS SKIN COLOR. THEN ADMIT LAMES THAT YALL HATE HIM BECAUSE OF IT TOO. FREAKIN RACISTS! ITS SO LAME WHEN SOMEONES RACIST AND GOES ALL OUT THERE WAY TO MAKE UP EXCUSES!

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:29 am 19. radical_moderate:

I see by most of the remarks here that you people just don’t get it. Obama was elected on his message of hope and change, and by the will of the 3 MILLION people that donated to his campaign. McCain lost because he offered nothing different than Bush regarding boosting the economy. While you people whined endlessly and futilely about Obama’s “socialist” redistribution plans, most Americans saw that that “redistribution” would be heading THEIR way (ideology is all fine and well friends, but self-interest trumps it most often.) As for Obama’s “friends” and so forth, McCain and the Republican attack machine simply didn’t make the case that somehow these people, some of whom Obama had a tenuous attachment to at best, would influence a President Obama.

Instead of bitterly rebuking Obama over the next 4 years may I suggest that you reorganize your own house. Ex Republican Congressman, and common sense Conservative thinker, Mickey Edwards (who indeed voted FOR Obama) suggests that Republicans reject the anti-intellectualism, and slash and burn elections strategy of Newt Gingrich, and Karl Rove, that has dominated the Conservative movement since the mid-90’s and become the party of Big Ideas again. You also need to become the “Big Tent Party” that John McCain had talked about in his saner years; out of 2300+ delegates at the Convention this year, 36 were black…I find this particularly interesting since reading that Blacks probably helped defeat proposition 8 in California; the facts are that minorities are socially very conservative, yet the Republican Party has not bothered themselves to go after this fresh source of support so invested are they in being the party of white people, and the affluent.

As my name suggests, I consider myself a centerist, and although I did support Obama I will be disappointed if he turns far left (in fact, after studying this man throughly, warts and all, since January, I am convinced that he will Govern from a place of moderation), I am above all interested in IDEAS, and I have been appalled as the other major political party in the Country became beholden to religious zealotry, pushed Joe Sixpackism at the price of intellectual discourse, and pushed out moderating voices; the party has become, as the recent vote suggests, a redux of the seccesionist South. This can’t be good for the movement, and you should be listening less to mindless rabble-rousers such as Hannity, Savage, and Limbaugh, and more to thoughtfull thinkers such as Bacevich, Phillips and Edwards. I also think that if the party takes an even harder right turn that you will remain mired in the waste-land of defeat as the country has NOT taken a turn left, we remain CENTER-right, but rather, has rejected the hard line politics of Karl Rove and his ilk.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:32 am 20. Robert Hurley:

Gee it is too bad that the majority of voters in Indiana voted for Obama. I guess some bloggers here wanted to weight the vote in each district with with the number of cows in that district. Obama won and now we will have a President we can be proud of. If he is trembling it is because he can’t wait until he becomes the “decision maker.” The Repubicans lost because they did not have the answers to the economy that the majority believed in. No amount of character assassination could overcome that problem

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:37 am 21. Big My:

Great article–you hit the main theme of this election precisely–it is the economy stupid and it always is the economy stupid!!!
Given the absolute disaster in the economy for 90 percent of the people in the country and Indiana in particular, the unexciting (albeit intelligent) John McCain running against a superstar such as Obama backed by the main stree media (Anderson Cooper, Brian Williams, Katie Couric) and Oprah and every minoirty in t e country (soon the minorities will actually be the majority) it is amazing that McCain even made it as close as he did.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:38 am 22. AnninCA:

Huey, that message was nothing more than a campaign ad. Obama’s money came from lobbyists, initially bundled, but after he won the primaries, he didn’t even hide it.

Big money bought the election. HOWEVER, I still don’t think money buys elections always.

Mostly, it was due to the economic shocker and the fear of letting McCain even try to reform Washington.

Until this, McCain had a message going. After then, no way. People got scared and veered to the Democrats, even though they clearly don’t trust them either.

This was an election where the devil you don’t know may be better than the devil you are familiar with.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:41 am 23. RickJ:

I guess some of the posters don’t consider FOX or Limbaugh part of the MSM, which spent the better part of the campaign spreading lies and filth about Obama. And I guess some of the posters can’t believe that a majority of people voted for Obama legitimately… Yes there is misinformation out there, similar to when W and Cheney insisted that Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11 in a phony and dishonest effort to get us into this horrible war.

This campaign waas about change and the end of negative campaigning. No tricks or fraud involved, just a majority of Americans finally rising up and saying enough is enough to Karl Rove’s divisive and dishonest politics. Proud to have a president I can believe in.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:46 am 24. PDK:

Please take a look at the comments of Justin Davidson, No. 7, I believe. He hits the right note.

I do believe that the President-Elect’s background probably played a significant role in Indiana. Although I don’t know the figures it doesn’t take a giant leap of imagination to suppose Blacks turned out in unprecedented numbers. Quite understandably. This was an historic election that will resound for all of the future in the country. The Obama team has its hands more than full. They’ve inherited a gigantic mess and there’s plenty of blame to go around, but much of the trouble came while the Republicans had the Watch. Let’s see some bipartisanship from the Right for a change. Let’s at least have that traditional first 100 days’ honeymoon and see where we are then.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:46 am 25. AnninCA:

Rick……except anyone who actually understands political patterns of action knows that Rove wasn’t lying when he said…..

Obama used my technique.

rut rho*

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:00 am 26. njcommuter:

There’s a very simple way to observe and measure the media’s bias, and I hope you will tell your friends about it. When there is a scandal involving a politician, the media will say “Republican” if he is, but will never tell you if he’s a Democrat. On the other hand, if the news is something good, they will always tell you if he is a Democrat, but rarely if he is a Republican. (Fox is the
exception to this.)

By itself, this may not convince them, but it may get them to look harder, to see which stories get dropped and which get a good follow-through, to see which are sugar-coated and which are served with vinegar and bile.

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:15 am 27. Cheri:

I wish all journalists were as “fair and balanced” as Ari Kaufman. He was absolutely objective in his analysis of why Indiana turned blue. Regarding the comments, there’s truth in almost all of them. Regrettably, 2008 was the perfect storm for a McCain loss. G-d save our Republic.

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:15 am 28. RickJ:

AnninCA

I do understand political patterns of action and Rove is fill of himself (and delusional to think the Obama campaign copied him) W never did so well! Didn’t see any evidence of dishonesty or divisiveness on the part of Obama’s campaign. Didn’t see Obama drag up things from McCain’s or Palin’s past. And those that tried Rovian tactics (eg. McCain, Palin, Dole etc) lost….

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:16 am 29. tom:

Obama had the main stream media in his pocket
Mccain was not the most desireable canidate and it took Palin to energize the base.

The fact that IN, VA, NC, MO were so close
certainly voter fraud comes in

but even worse is voter apathy and those less informed voting on appearance/personality over informed positions

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:48 am 30. Greg:

“Its the economy, stupid.” Play on wrds).

Whether it was GW’s fault or not, people saw the economy crash, especially housing and job loss, debt skyrocket, crooks (read: CEOs) prosper, etc., while ‘Repubes’ were in the White House.

Many, many people just wanted change, any change, hoping it would improve things. And saying things can’t get any worse, maybe better with change, they voted for Obama.

I was also disappointed in the campaign McCain ran and the running mate he chose (I am glad Palin can go back to Alaska and watch those sneaky Russians).

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:49 am 31. David Thomson:

“Didn’t see Obama drag up things from McCain’s or Palin’s past.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. Obama’s allies in the elite media did the job for him! The MSP (main stream propagandists) are for all practical purposes committed to the Democratic Party.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:06 am 32. Rotwang:

I knew all about Obama’s shady friends, his record in Illinois, his liberal policies and the many dumb things Joe Biden said on the trail…and I voted for him anyway.

I could not vote for a confused old man and the dangerously-muddled Governor of a state whose population is smaller than the county I live in…both of who also had shady friends, iffy records and radical tendencies.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:16 am 33. jerryofva:

rotwang:

Could you please identify Palin’s and McCain’s shady friends? Don’t bring up Charles Keating. The Senate ethics committee totally absolved McCain of wrong doing. He took no money and brought no influence to bare. He was included only to put a bipartisan stamp on the scandal. You can check many sources to verfiy this.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:27 am 34. David Thomson:

“radical tendencies”

Is this a code word for abortion? Does this issue define your political mindset? I said before the election that abortion was the defining issue for those who truly take politics seriously.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:30 am 35. Big My:

The Palin factor will be debated for many years. No doubt she “energized” the base–but who really cares. Where was the base going–to Nader? to Obama? Please. The VP is the most overrated position ever created. As the media correctly noted last summer there area few weeks when attention is focused on the VP and then for the final strtetch run of the campaign it is all about the person at the top of the ticket.

Having said that (think of Dan Qualye after all–a truly incompetent Hoosier)there is no doubt that Palin’s selection turned off thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands)of independents and who knows how many of them took that as the last straw and said how could a 72 year old pick such an inexperienced (notice i did not say incompetent) individual as VP?

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:30 am 36. Mandy:

Excellent analysis. I also predicted Indiana would vote Obama, as the likes of Betty C., with her paranoid fantasies about the unknown (black) man would be trumped by rational voters who recognized the promise of hope instead of the brain-dead ideologues on the other side.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:32 am 37. Clyde:

I am a Hoosier and live Valparaiso – Porter Co (NW Indiana). I agree with most of the article and let me add some first-hand experience. Every work-day I commute from Indiana to Illinois. During this commute, Obama flooded the local radio stations. Most of the ads were centered on the false premise that Obama supports hunters and their 2nd amendment rights. One add used the now well known “Hunters and Shooters Association of America” – HSAA. We all know this is a 1-year old organization made up of liberals for the sole purpose of blunting the NRA in the 2008 election. When word of the bogus HSAA got around, Obama’s campaign switched to a new add. The new add had a guy who said he was a lifetime NRA member and supported Obama. Myself, a NRA member, I was outraged. I contacted the regional McCain campaign staff and asked where were McCains rebuttals and if McCain had written off NW Indiana. Here is the response:
Clyde,

McCain writing off NW Indiana? Hardly. You are not going to hear as many ads from the McCain campaign because John McCain kept his promise to limit himself to federal funding guidelines unlike the opposition.

I would be surprised if 2nd amendment supporters think Obama is the right choice even if they are flooded with radio ads. I think his heavy ad buy is an overreaction to an issue on which he clearly does not have an even moderate record.

We are focusing our efforts at this point on bringing our supporters to the polls. We are fighting this one out on the streets and with personal contacts, an old, proven strategy for candidates who don’t need to hide or distort their positions to win votes.

If you would like to join us, please let me know. We have volunteer opportunities all over NW Indiana and I would be happy to bring you on board.

Respectfully,

Paul Egnatuk
Regional Political Coordinator-Indiana
John McCain for President

McCain’s campaign really hoped that Indiana would just go his way without any money or effort. Also, the Obama campaign worked the college campuses very well. Those counties with IU, Purdue, Ball State, etc had headquarters that registered and turned out voters. Also, John Mellencamp had an add for Obama that was very effective.

I hope that in 2012, whoever the GOP candidate is, they run a more effective campaign here. I would love to help. But they sure screwed this one up.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:42 am 38. FatJer:

I can explain Obama’s victory in 4 simple words my father use to remind me of all the time. “The masses are asses.”

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:51 am 39. Edward A.:

One must smile perusing all the comments. What did you expect with Bush approaching Nixon’s all-time low rating, a disaster of a campaign run by McCain, America’s economy failing, two on-going wars, unemployment rising, Palin shown to be less knowledgeable than a elementary student and our nation exhausted by the embarrassment of the past eight years.

We have always known Americans have loved God, now we see that God loves America.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:53 am 40. Clyde:

Let me just add, that I know of about a dozen hunters in my locale who voted for Obama. Because of these ads, I could not convince them otherwise. They knew I am a steady GOP-er and just thought I was trying to get them to switch.

Also note, that Bob Barr took about 30,000 votes from McCain. I forget what the margin was, but 30,000 would have helped greatly.

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:53 am 41. jerryofva:

Big My:

Your point is well taken but let me ask you why the voters thought Obama was any more experienced then Palin?

Nov 7, 2008 - 10:56 am 42. Anita Hope:

It is time to stop the race war. We now have the first Bi-Racial President in our history and though I was not in his camp, I think we all need to take a deep breath and wait to see the path he will be taking according to his promises to heal our country. As an old saying goes,” he will either sink or swim” in the next few months after being sworn in. We will see some direction by those he chooses as his cabinet & adviser’s. All the rehashing of this campaign is not going to change the final
result’s, so name calling is just adding fuel to a fire we need not to continue to let burn. We will always be a strong nation and will be there if anyone attempt’s to
attack our country and all our citizen’s, so let us stop attacking each other at such an important time in our history. Those fighting over sea’s need to see us pulling together, just as they are and have always done when engaged in war, color was and is never seen when it comes to saving lives of their fellow man. Please give it some thought…

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:11 am 43. BC:

TO Betty C.: Please.

In my circles are the brightest, most well informed, top of their class type of people you can imagine, and NONE of them voted for McCain. That wasn’t even a consideration. Why? Because of McCain having much, much, MUCH more serious issues that never got much if any press coverage than the laughably trivial Ayers/ACORN nonsense that right wingers kept trying to make into BFD’s.

I doubt any of you whiners bothered to look into the people McCain (or maybe his handlers) brought on board as advisors (not to mention Sarah “Africa is a continent? What’s a continent?” Palin) Nothing but bad news there in terms of what a McCain Presidency would very likely have been about. This country escaped a bullet, whether you want to believe it or not. Be thankful. Seriously.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:13 am 44. Big My:

Good question since on paper Obama was not very experienced And even though I did not vote for BHO for a myriad of reasons, in reality Obama did very well in the debates simply by showing up and answering questions calmly. He stood toe to toe with McCain and even though McCain is much more experienced and knoweldgeable on many of the issues, the perception was that Obama was professional and competent (and not a cranky old man). He did not sneer at his opponent as MccCin did (and as Gore did in 2000 and Dukakis in 1988) and he was pleasant and certainly he was well informed. Obama is no genius that is for sure and not as gifted as Bill Clinton on the issues but he surely does possess a much wider range of knowledge on pertinent issues than Palin. I am not saying he is smarter than Palin but he has clearly read consdiderably more than she has on foreign and domestic issues and of course is a smooth talker. (As an aside although i like and admire Palin and she is clearly a dynamic person and leader, I doubt her reading level ever went much beyond Time magazine) To repeat Obama came across as presidential in the debates–probably more so than McCain. And that is all he had to do–similar to Reagan in 1980 (remember Reagan was basically a buffoon actor with very little knowledge of foreign or doemstic policy issues but he stood toe to toe with Carter and by not falling on his face in the debates he won. Same thing with Obama–just by showing up and not looking like a buffoon he won.)

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:20 am 45. Big My:

My last comment was in response to inquiry from jerryofva

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:24 am 46. jerryofva:

BC:

It was clear to anyone that she refering to South Africa. If you want to insist that she didn’t know then I will insist the Obama doesn’t know how many states there are. (That’s 50 Barry and not 57)

Your denigration of Palin is nothing more then an attempt to decieve yourself about Obama lack experience and resume.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:24 am 47. RCD:

This election, both for the state of Indiana (in which I live) and for the entire nation rests firmly on the shoulders of the buffoons that voted on a marketing campaign and not a candidate. If you’re a liberal and you voted for him because you agree with his principles, congratulations…your utopian society is close at hand. If you consider yourself a moderate just itching for some sort of change, the next four years will be less-than-pleasant for you.

Reading from sources outside of barackobama.com and cnn.com might have yielded some info that was accurate…but how important is voting on the issues really?

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:29 am 48. Big My:

I think Betty C comments merit serious consideration. Although the “best and the brightest” make huge mistakes–read David Halberstam”s wonderful book re the vietnam War–it is clear that Obama does atrtract much better “talent” than McCain or Bush. I am sure Palin could have learned rapidly but on foreign affairs she was a dolt and more importantly looked like a dolt.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:32 am 49. jerryofva:

Big My:

I accept that but I think your impressions are colored by the successful anti-Palin propaganda put out by the MSM.

I think we both agree that energy security is the paramount issue of our time. In that particular venue Palin was far and away the most qualified of the four candidates. Her resume includes four years as Chair of the Alaska State Oil and Gas Commission, out negotiated British Petroleum and secured the development and financing of the ALCAN natural gas pipeline. That pipeline is essential if the Picken’s Plan or something like it is the future of American energy.

And remember she was running for the more or less ceremonial position of Vice President, not President, against a man who can’t open his mouth without some nonsense coming out of it. Given her even six months to set an learn and she would be well on her way to step up to the job. There is one thing that I will not put down about this election. I will not stand by and let people continue the smears agains Sarah Palin. She is a lot sharper then any of us who post on this blog.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:32 am 50. David Beiler:

The obvious reason for the Hoosier Heave (almost completely ignored here) is money. Outspent 3:1 nationally down the stretch, the McCain camp knew it had a lot of ground to give in Indiana, so they virtually ignored it, getting outspent there by something like 7:1.

This was not a strategic mistake: Had the national popular vote been even, McCain would have taken Indiana comfortably, by six points.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:36 am 51. REAL DEAL:

Having grown up in Indiana, it is important to also remember that the difference in the vote would have maybe filled one mid-sized college football stadium. Additionally, at least 25,000 of those were likely “dead” voters, a famous strategy in Gary, Indiana…the armpit of the nation.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:52 am 52. Anonymous:

‘This election, both for the state of Indiana (in which I live) and for the entire nation rests firmly on the shoulders of the buffoons that voted on a marketing campaign and not a candidate. If you’re a liberal and you voted for him because you agree with his principles, congratulations…your utopian society is close at hand. If you consider yourself a moderate just itching for some sort of change, the next four years will be less-than-pleasant for you.

Reading from sources outside of barackobama.com and cnn.com might have yielded some info that was accurate…but how important is voting on the issues really?”
=====================
I am a moderate, and I did indeed vote for Obama, I am also a pragmatist, and realize that Obama can’t just wish the mess that Bush got us into away…it will take work from both sides of the aisle to get anything done, and Obama will have to keep Pelosi and Reid on a short rope (I think that the President-Elect has proved himself tough enough during this campaign to do so.)

I find your last statement re Obama’s website, and CNN amusing. Speaking for myself, I have been reading PJM, and responding on occasion, for months, and will continue to do so. I read widely from both liberal and Conservative sources other than FOX which I find so biased as to be unreliable. RCD, I suggest the you look up Andrew Bacevich, for one, to gain a thoughtful insight on Conservatism that veers wildly away from the ham fisted, rah-rah preaching to the choir partisanship of Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly.

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:53 am 53. Big My:

jerryofva–I concur on the energy issue. Proving that she has the brains to deal with many issues –she is just woefully ignorant of other matters and Katie Couric killed her becasue she wasn’t one of “them”.

I still say that given all the neataives ocnfronting the McCain campaign–the economy, Bush, the MSM love affair with a good looking smooth talking African American, the racist voting by blacks and Latinos, the dollars avilable to BHO, an old man as candidate–the Repubs actually did VERY well. Maybe I am wrong in this emerging minority dominated country– but Mitt Romney would hav been a more attractive candidate than Palin given the economic crisis we are facing. At least he is good looking and that is important in this TV driven society. Let’s face it William Howard Taft would never have been elected in 2008 as he was in 1908!!

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:54 am 54. Michael Kagan:

It is pathetic to whine about Obama raising $650M and beating everybody in this department. Next time around, if we (55 million of Palin/McCain voters) donate just $20, we’ll collect more than $1 Billion for our candidate. Think about $20: it a cost of a garbage Hollywood movie for two (hopefully, with junk food) you are going to miss!

Nov 7, 2008 - 11:59 am 55. radical_moderate:

“This election, both for the state of Indiana (in which I live) and for the entire nation rests firmly on the shoulders of the buffoons that voted on a marketing campaign and not a candidate. If you’re a liberal and you voted for him because you agree with his principles, congratulations…your utopian society is close at hand. If you consider yourself a moderate just itching for some sort of change, the next four years will be less-than-pleasant for you.

Reading from sources outside of barackobama.com and cnn.com might have yielded some info that was accurate…but how important is voting on the issues really?”
————————————-

I am a moderate who voted for Obama and I anticipate being satisfied by Obama’s Governance; this is predicated on Obama being able to keep Pelosi and Reid on a short Lead of course and building a consensus among Democrats and Conservatives, but I believe that his toughness during the campaign proves that he is up to the job.

I found your last statement accusing Obama voters of only reading the Obama website and watching CNN amusing. I can assure you that this voter has been reading PJM for months, along with other websites both Liberal and Conservative and will continue to do so. May I suggest that you RCD look past FOX News and reading the “preaching to the choir” websites and look up thoughful Conservative thinkers such as Andrew Bacevich for a more balanced view of what Conservatism really means.

Nov 7, 2008 - 12:02 pm 56. Daily Pundit » News From the Old Home Town:

[...] Pajamas Media » How Obama Turned Indiana Blue Celebratory gunfire rang through neighborhoods in Indianapolis Tuesday night, as supporters of President-elect Barack Obama were elated over the election of their candidate to our nation’s highest office. Hours later, deep into the morning, while wild parties continued throughout America, the Hoosier State of Indiana was colored blue for the first time since the onset of the Vietnam War. [...]

Nov 7, 2008 - 12:15 pm 57. retrobon:

To see reporters approach masses of people throughout the last several months, asking questions to test the voters knowledge of each candidate’s views, was truly an eye-opener. People knew nothing, basically.

How did McCain/Palin lose?

John McCain is not the communicator that Obama is. He had a message, but Obama’s words were mesmorizing, and exactly what people wanted to hear. He was so much easier to listen to, and since the majority of people were convinced that America was going to Hell-in-a-hand-basket because the MSM said so, it was easy to begin to reject President Bush and all that he stood for. I know he was not perfect, but he is a good man, and the MSM failed to completely report on the great years of job growth/stability, security at home, accomplishments regarding the wars being waged against terrorism–which, by the way are being fought in other countries in an effort to keep the radicals/terrorists as far away from our republic as possible—and because of the monumental effort to keep Americans in the dark–many good and sensible people were misled. They began to doubt, and as the MSM became more anti-Bush, the winds began to change.

Obama knows what “the people” may actually question, regarding his policies because there is a technique to convincing people about something that is “not quite in their comfort zone (or not what they really want to believe in or accept). He begins a “grooming” process to disarm the doubters. So, before he begins his “rhetoric” he tries to cover all those bases first by saying, “now,now,now…they are going to say…Oh, he’s this way”, or “oh, he did that”, or “it’s all because he’s a different color”..etc.etc., “but that is just because they don’t have anything better to say…so, don’t listen to them, listen to me”. This man knows psychology inside and out. When he put his defense before his game, it automatically put listeners on guard, so that when McCain, or the republicans tried to bring up the very valid points that would effectively counter Obama’s “talk”, they were met with a deaf ear. Some “followers” were even singing Obama’s praises,saying, “hey, he said they would say that!” With the MSM silent on the issues that were important, a huge mist of confusion began to settle on the electorate. Who’s telling the truth? What should we believe?

Then, with the millions of dollars of our tax-payer money, going to fund Acorn, and organizations like it, millions of voters in all 50 states were rounded up, and registered, and informed about rallies, and given information about fundraisers, etc.(for the Dems) The organizations, paid for with our tax dollars, brought in millions of new voters over the past several years…millions of democrats and repu….wait a minute! How many republicans were actually registered as opposed to democrats, with our taxpayer money. HHHMMMMMM! No very damn many. I find it hard to believe that all 50 states only have left-leaning voters.

As the crowds gathered (organization efforts,etc., bought and paid for, some organizers at $10.00 p/h) those uninformed citizens started to believe that even though they weren’t researching on their own, that others surely were and that all of “these other people” couldn’t be wrong. And so, the masses gathered, and cheered. Each believing the other must have studied and learned and believed that this man’s message was true, and right for our country.

And the young, the 30 and under crowd, danced in the streets because for whatever reason they had for voting, their goal had been accomplished and they helped to elect a man who has little experience, and a secretive past, and who had continued to associate with people who could have cost him a job with the FBI, or other organizations that require a background check. They helped to elect a man who had “how many” unknown and shady characters and organizations, foreign and domestic, behind him with money and support.

And the saddest part of the story is, that they and their children will still be paying…”literally”, every payday, for as long and as far as the eye can see, into the future.

Nov 7, 2008 - 12:38 pm 58. LEONARD NEWMAN:

I lived in Jasper, IN for 60 years. In a densely Catholic area, these Catholics were mainly conservative Democrats. Jasper, 95% Catholic. was purely Democratic. The same with most Catholics Southwestern In.

Because of straight ticket voting, Bloomington lost some outstanding office holders…..even the Democrats are sick over it.

Nov 7, 2008 - 12:39 pm 59. Anita Hope:

The US Steel plants in Gary, Whitting, Indiana Harbor, East Chicago, basically sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan and only miles from the loop of Chicago have
been a driving voters choice for Pres. elect Sen. Obama through this campaign. When you look north east and go past So. Bend, into Michigan and the auto industry
do we need further info why Indiana went “Blue” ?
Michae Kagan;
It has been quite a while in Hollywood since you could see a movie & junk food for $ 20.00. Most of our top theaters are owned by big corporate chains and food alone for kids and adults is over that amt., only some of the older screens can you stay within the $ 20.00 price tag., but we could all do without the junk food.
Have a great weekend.

Nov 7, 2008 - 12:46 pm 60. Bernard Chapin:

It’s Lake County in my opinion. The southern suburbs of Chicago are bleeding rapidly into Indiana. I’ve known about 100 or more former urbanites who have moved across the state line for cheaper gas and cheaper taxes. It won’t be long until those leftists–with their votes–make the place the new Illinois.

Nov 7, 2008 - 12:55 pm 61. MartyL:

Thanks Ari, a good read as always.

But I’d like to say I live in Starke Co., a rural, almost all white area in NWI. Starke Co. went for Obama too. I didn’t hear any celebratory gunfire, but I heard reports that the ghost of Starke Co’s KKK past was seen heading south. May that demon never return!

This is a good thing for Indiana — the state will henceforth not be taken for granted. Also maybe folks will notice that we weren’t part of the Confederacy. And it’s a good thing here in low-income Starke County — it appears many new and younger voters came in for the first time.

Ultimately, Indiana went blue because the Bush administration was just so awful. Any decent Democrat had a good shot at winning, and Obama ran a flawless campaign. I’m hopeful he will govern with the same skill.

Nov 7, 2008 - 1:04 pm 62. John:

This was a very big deal. Not only did the country elect a Democratic president by a decisive margin but for the second election the Dems substantially increased their majorities in house and senate. In this context all the demonizing of Reid and Pelosi as far left nut cases who need to be put on a leash. The country has just delivered them a decisive vote of confidence. From what we’ve seen so far the GOP seems to making a strong shift to the right just as the country moves to the left. Whether this results in electoral dividends for the GOP seems highly debatable to me. Obama who is emerging as someone with all the intelligence and political savvy of Clinton with 100 times the discipline is going to run rings around obstructionism a’ outrance policy by the likes of Cantor, Issa and McConnell. He’s just made a brilliant pick in Emmanuel and will probably pick a really heavyweight like Summers for the treasury. If conservatives think the country is going to support them while they play silly games as Obama is wrestling with a major economic meltdown (with corrections we lost nearly half a million jobs today)then they must be on drugs.

Nov 7, 2008 - 1:12 pm 63. Jack Okie:

Stefon:

If your comments are any guide to your education, you should ask for your money back.

Nov 7, 2008 - 1:14 pm 64. rof f:

two words: BUSH< PALIN

Nov 7, 2008 - 1:46 pm 65. Big My:

Retrobon–perfect analysis!

Nov 7, 2008 - 1:57 pm 66. cedarhill:

Jackie Okie, be kind. Stefon is just part of the bottom up economic policies Obama wants to implement and happens to have a keyboard stuck on caps. When he graduates he’ll find out soon enough that “bottom up” means sinking, not prosperity.

I live in a TV market that includes Indiana. At the end of the campaign there were just about only Democrat ads – even the commercial ads all but disappeared. The themes was “shipping jobs overseas”, “big oil”, “help for the working family”, etc. And as usual, some even stated the Democrat was Conservative and displayed the word “conservative” on the screen.

Nov 7, 2008 - 3:17 pm 67. retrobon:

I’m smiling at some of the postings on this page. I just finished reading something about someone being in the brightest, most well informed circles, who commented that John McCain had “associations” to be questioned that the media didn’t investigate. In the next paragraph the person repeated MSM gossip about Gov. Palin……..yes, Gov. Palin, not knowing “geography” facts. It’s funny, because there is an article today about Obama’s new Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, and how he was with Freddie or Fannie during their “scandal”. Now, I wouldn’t just assume that this man was guilty, or contributed to wrong doing, just because he worked with one of those troubled organizations, just as I wouldn’t assume that some of the people in BHO’s campaign circle were also questionable “associates”, even though bits and pieces of information on those individuals kept popping up throughout the campaign. In the same way, I wouldn’t assume that just because an “anonymous” source made a statement about Gov. Palin’s “geography knowledge”, that it would be true. A personal aide to Gov. Palin, who has given her name to the media, came out today in defense of Gov. Palin, stating that those statements were “sickening”, and “Not True!. She said that Gov. Palin was smart, amicable, and never went on shopping sprees, and had never asked for anything other than a “diet soda”. None of the nonsense was true.

Someone else on this page commented that she was a “dolt” and looked like a “dolt”. I guess that is why she attracted such large crowds, and drew the highest Saturday Night Live viewership in 14 years.

There are some people who have the great ability to take complicated information and break it down so that anyone, educated or not, would be able to understand it. She has that ability. I agree that she had a rocky start on the first few interviews. She hadn’t been on the campaign trail but a month or so, where as everyone else had been out there for 18 months. She was given talking points, and crammed with information, and it definitely did not go well. I also remember BHO’s first few interviews. They were horrible…full of stuttering and misrepresentations, and just big mistakes. But he learned as he went, and he got better at interviews over time. I don’t remember anyone continually calling him stupid,nor did I ever hear a continuous trashing of his looks. But nobody gave Gov. Palin any time or consideration to make mistakes and bring herself up to speed. She has been out there for 2 1/2 months, and has been trashed more times than all the other candidates put together. She is actually a very good Governor. She was popular and elected to the position. There are many, many bright and well-informed “circles” in Alaska, as well, who thought she was a very good choice.

Now don’t you feel a little bit bad? lol
Just because someone is well informed, bright, genius in nature, it doesn’t mean they have good common sense, people skills, and are popular. As badly as you try to make Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin look, and as poorly as their campaign was run, with lack of Obama’s funding and lack of the funding from Acorn that was required for mass organization, they still did pretty well. What was it…by 7 Million popular votes…that is like 140,000 people per state, if we divided the loss equally. Not exactly a landslide. They did get around 56 Million votes. “All” of those people couldn’t have possibly missed the brightest, most well-informed circles in their own states, could they have?

The mention of Bill Ayers and Acorn surprises me though, you being the best and brightest and all, as I am really just a commoner, State College, struggling small business owner, still raising kids, etc. I don’t think the republicans were ever implying that Bill Ayers and BHO were best friends or anything. They were saying that while together they were using 501C3 funds to implement programs in our public schools that were teaching radical ideas to our kids. Ideas that were so incorporated into Bill Ayers character, that it drove him to commit terrorist acts inside our own country, in protest of our government. Acts that he never regretted to this day. In other words, our children were being indoctrinated with radical ideas, instead of being taught your basic academic subjects. Like many communist countries, the indoctrination begins in the early school years, and continues throughout the learning process.

As far as Acorn is concerned, when you have millions of dollars of taxpayer money going to an organization that is not an equal-opportunity organizer, as far as registration of voters, etc., it does seem a little suspicious; like, spending millions of taxpayer dollars to organize, behind the scenes for four years, preparing a mass of new voters for an upcoming election, while endorsing the Candidate on the Democratic side, and influencing and encouraging your workers and new registrants to do the same. Something doesn’t quite pass the “smell test” on that one.

Anyway, I’m not trying to be contrary. I just believe that there has been right and wrong on both sides as far as associates, mistakes made, questionable actions, etc.

Nov 7, 2008 - 3:21 pm 68. Cal:

“Obama can’t just wish the mess that Bush got us into away”

This cliche needs to go away. ALL presidents have flaws and Bush’s worst one (the 3 years of errors in Iraq AFTER we successfully toppled Saddam) has now been eradicated by our VICTORY in Iraq that the media completely ignored recently. So, since the economy is equally the fault of the congressional Democrats, if not mostly, what is this “mess” Bush left us with?

It’s a vapid, boring and flawed cliche – about as cliche as moronic Joe Biden calling Cheney “the most dangerous VP ever.” Why? How? They have no facts, nor do Bush haters.

Nov 7, 2008 - 3:46 pm 69. retrobon:

Cal: 68.

I completely agree. Bush was not perfect. Some of his policies I didn’t agree with, but Congress is not “an innocent bystander”. I believe that in time the “truth” will prevail. His truth, as opposed to the compromises he had to make, in order to get Congress behind him. We don’t get “all” of the news because the “Great Media Curtain” has been drawn for some time. We read and learn what is dished out to us. How could we, as citizens, really know what is happening in Iraq, or Iran, or Chicago, etc., unless we depend on the news, or have a trusted relative who travels a lot? lol We have to depend on those on the ground. Those who are suppose to represent us, the eyes and ears. We are suppose to be the ones that decipher the information that we receive. In recent years, the MSM somehow have come to believe that they have to think for us, too; Sway us, lead us, direct us with their interpretation and bias. There are a handful of Journalists remaining, who can give it to us straight. God Bless Them.

Nov 7, 2008 - 4:19 pm 70. AJ:

For all the Palin bashers, I’d invite you to read this paragraph by VD Hanson yesterday on his PJM blog:

There was something bothersome about the treatment of Sarah Palin. Her final campaign appearances and interviews showed calm, poise and competence. Her charm galvanized the base. And yet the hard Left on day one reduced her to a Neanderthal creationist. The DC-NY Republican grandees demonized her as a cancerous bimbo who spoke in a patois and represented a culture that was an anathema. Now after heroic campaign work, she returns to Alaska with leaks that she was a diva, appeared in a bathrobe, and threw things, as failed strategists grasp at scapegoats for their lapses. I hope she completes her term, runs for Senate, and comes back to DC to haunt her critics. Long after 2008, we shall remember that an Atlantic Mazagine blogger for days on end trafficked in rumors that her own daughter delivered her mother’s Down Syndrome child. That smear says it all.

Nov 7, 2008 - 4:34 pm 71. RAP:

Those people who followed Jay Cost’s Blog at RCP.com were not surprised at this result. It was Ethanol that did the trick. Obama was a big ethanol supporter while McCain voted against the energy bill with its subsidies for ethanol. Farmers who are getting rich off of ethanol at taxpayers expense voted their intrest and this reduced Republican margins in rural counties. This is also why Obama ran so well in Iowa a state Bush carried in 2004

Nov 7, 2008 - 5:26 pm 72. Thomas:

Ari, another great piece. Having heard stories about voter fraud in Indianapolis and elsewhere (most notably Ohio), I had a feeling that Obama would win. When you dig down into the Obama win, you can’t overlook how ACORN was able to commit widespread voter fraud and factor that into the victory.

Overall, though, the real key to Obama’s victory was the fact that he was able to get people to believe things were so bad that they needed change. Yet, there are two problems with this idea. First, things weren’t nearly as bad as some would lead us to believe they were. Sure, some people were hurting, but on the whole, people were doing okay, but they didn’t bother to think about it so much.

Second, Obama never really specified why change was necessary. He simply repeated “change” and people bought it because people always seem to think they need something new. In other words, Obama’s rhetoric was nothing more than slick advertising copy. And it seems to have worked wonders.

Now comes the big question. What if Obama can’t deliver on his promises?

Nov 7, 2008 - 5:27 pm 73. CDH:

Unless there is another source of vote tallies that I am unaware of, we have again been led astray by a media that wrote the story prior to counting the votes. It appears that John McCain actually has about a 100,000 vote lead:

http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/election/general/general2008?page=office&countyID=-1&officeID=36&districtID=-1&candidate=

Nov 7, 2008 - 6:33 pm 74. thegr8_1:

There are riverboats in Northwest Indiana. Many busses come from Chicago suburbs to the boats daily. They probably got a tour and visited some polling places in Lake and Porter companies. The acorn doesn’t fall from the tree and Gary isn’t far from Chicago.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:17 pm 75. Wahine:

As I read this thread, I’m listening to another conservative on the radio try to make the case that Republicans have to burnish the brand in order to win next time.

This woman says she knows much about the Alinsky tactics Obama practices and how they can stealthily change our society. We have to be wary, she warns.

But what has not been addressed, by her and too many others, is the fraud and corruption that may have forever altered our free and fair elections. (Are we foolish enough to think this is the only arena corruption will be practiced?)

As far as I can tell, nothing will be done, really, about the laws that were broken during the election process. This is a real gift to those who are morally-challenged. And energizing.

The Republican brand can be burnished all day long for the next 3 years, but what will that accomplish if an election is won again with fraud and corruption? They will have been handed a few more years to perfect their talent.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:25 pm 76. Roger Godby:

Looking at the Indy Star’s breakdown of counties, it’s interesting that some counties (Vigo, for one, I think) that went for Obama nevertheless voted for Mitch Daniels. Indiana’s non-ag economic sectors are heavy industry: steel, chemicals, auto parts. When times are good, they’re very good in Hoosierland; when bad, they’re very bad.

Nov 7, 2008 - 7:34 pm 77. The Opinionator:

Have a friend in Chicago. Obama supporter. Spent the last few days before the election doing GOTV in Indiana. Long story short, they not only had money and the media, they executed the old fashioned blocking and tackling of getting voters to the polls.

I live in the Raleigh area. When Rove ran the shop, I was called every few days up to the election. We had a republican in our subdivision responsible for staying on top of every registered republican, ensuring they were registered, knew their polling place and then confirming they had voted. This year, we had zero contact. It was said that under Rove, the party knew where every republican in the country was and could reach out to them. For whatever reason, the GOTV was not there this year.

P.S. And if Rove were running the campaign, every time you heard Barack Obama, you would automatically think “liberal”.

Nov 7, 2008 - 8:19 pm 78. retrobon:

Wahine:75.

Exactly my concern. When you have those now running the show, who participated in some way, whether it be contributions to Acorn, receiving kickbacks/payments from Wall Street, campaigns accepting mysterious contributions and showing blatant disregard for security to prevent the perpetration of credit card fraud, suppression of free speech, etc., you wonder just how will adequate and impartial investigations be conducted…or should I say, will anything even be investigated. As a side note, it was interesting to hear that a judge ordered Alaska State to save all copies of email that Gov. Palin had on public accounts, etc., “just incase” of an inpropriety, I guess, and yet nothing was said when BHO was asked for records of State business conducted, and a list of former clients during his Chicago stint, and his answer was, “they have been lost, or disappeared, or they weren’t saved,” or some bizarre excuse. Government business, and the records vanished? Strange! Who will ever be able to get to the bottom of anything?

Does anyone remember the countless hours and months during the Bush administration when the media kept digging and digging for Pres. Bush’s military records? Even when they found the information, they wanted more and more and more. Where are those people now? It seems that those who are enthralled with our new “dear leader”, here and around the world, actually don’t give a damn about who he is, or how he will preside. They don’t want anything brought up that might taint this “historic event” even if it is a fraud. And even worse than the blindness to the corruption, and questionable practices of Acorn and associated orgs, is the continuing microscopic reporting on anything and everything regarding Gov. Palin, real and imaginary. Do you think it is to keep the attention off of important issues? Is it to make the current problems seem less important, less tense, less apparent that this situation could actually really be “above anyone’s pay- grade”.

When regularly requested documentation can’t even be produced, like birth certificates, state records, and names of campaign contributors, how is business going to be handled from here on out. It makes you wonder!

We need to replenish the Journalism Pool, and get some “impartial investigative” (hopefully that isn’t an oxy-moron) reporters in here. Some “real mavericks” ready to get busy and do their job.

Nov 7, 2008 - 9:08 pm 79. Wahine:

retrobon —

Some courageous souls have already done investigative work regarding the history O’s tried to hide. David Freddoso and Jerome Corsi come to mind. But Obama, with the media, and in some cases his thugs and lawyers, have successfully fought the broader publication/distribution of their findings.

Hopefully others will do more investigations, especially about the laws that were broken during the campaign. I have an idea that measures will be taken to make it very difficult, even uncomfortable, for anyone to reveal anything unpleasant about him so long as he’s in power. In fact, I wish I could remember the particulars of something I read earlier today alluding to that very possibility.

And that’s the real danger: he has the power now to protect himself while destroying others. And he’s been given every indication no one will challenge him. Rather than one man or a handful, I’m thinking it may take, if something of real concern is proven, a march on Washington. Peaceful, certainly, but tens of thousands to protest.

I think a concerted campaign needs to be undertaken to put out of business all those in the media who’re in the tank for him. Maybe they’ll start doing their jobs when they can’t make a buck being biased.

Regarding the ongoing attempts to intimidate/smear Palin, I think it’s now about 2012. (Interesting to read the judge’s order re her emails). I read, and if it’s to be believed, a ‘confession’ of sorts by someone who’d worked for Obama’s campaign. She said Palin was especially feared by them. And a team had been set up to do all they could to discredit her.

I’m sure the huge, enthusiastic crowds she drew were too threatening; O. probably feels he holds exclusive rights to that kind of popularity. And now that he actually has to “do” something, like make a decision that could be unpopular, he can’t have anyone else in two years running to replace him who might be more popular at that time.

The differences between the two crowds they drew were considerable, though. His crowds were the adoring, cultish followers of a charlatan lacking a substantive message. Hers were fellow citizens thankful to hear, finally, some common sense and their shared good values.

He dished out the cr@* and she cut through it. And that’s what he wants to avoid at all costs: an opponent who is fearless. Someone who is willing to reveal him for the con artist he is.

He had it pretty easy with McCain.

Nov 8, 2008 - 1:51 am 80. Wahine:

Or “running in a few years” – we won’t have a 2yr. campaign again hopefully…

Nov 8, 2008 - 1:55 am 81. kate545:

Looking at the New York Times map relating the vote in 2008 w/2004, not a single Indiana county voted more for McCain than for Bush. This is radical.

Nov 8, 2008 - 2:11 am 82. Wahine:

Also: Just started reading at

atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com

that Justice Souter has ordered Obama to produce his Birth Certificate by December 1. This could get interesting…

Nov 8, 2008 - 2:43 am 83. Big Gus:

Um, this may shock some here, but even though CNN ‘called’ Indiana for Obama, the Indiana Secretary of State’s numbers have McCain winning Indiana:
McCain 1180102
Obama 1080584

Nov 8, 2008 - 5:39 am 84. Patsy:

It makes perfect sense why Obama carried Indiana. Your opening sentence “Celebratory gunfire rang through neighborhoods in Indianapolis Tuesday night, as supporters of President-elect Barack Obama were elated over the election of their candidate to our nation’s highest office.”

WHO DOES THAT!!!!!!!

Nov 8, 2008 - 6:04 am 85. ThymeZone:

Wow, speaking as a liberal Democrat, I must say, the depth of ignorance, superstition and damn-foolishness among you losers is breathtaking, much worse than I thought it would be. Sad and pathetic.

Your future political prospects are tied to a dead party, a gaggle of retrograde ideas and resentment all mixed together.

Unless you wake up and grow up, you will be here four years from having another dreary loserfest just like this one.

You should listen to me. I’m a solid American, middle class taxpayer and I’m not your enemy. If you can’t get along with me better than this, you are relegating yourselves to the dustbin of history.

I’m quite serious. Go read some books and get educated about something other than Rush Limbaugh talking points and discover the real world. You guys are without a leader, and without a clue.

Nov 8, 2008 - 6:44 am 86. LeRoy the Gentile:

Uh, hate to throw lead rice at the wedding but if you take a gander at the Indiana Secretary of State’s official tally, McCain has now taken a 100,000 vote lead in the state. Check it out at the link below.

That means McCain has won Indiana with this 5% swing thanks to late counted, absentee, etc. votes.

This article is now MOOT.

Link: http://www.in.gov/apps/sos/election/general/general2008?page=office&countyID=-1&officeID=36&districtID=-1&candidate=

Nov 8, 2008 - 7:18 am 87. A Displaced Hoosier:

One thing that seems to be missing from the article is what effect, if any, Gov. Mitch Daniels had. I know my parents, who still live in Indiana and have voted Republican pretty consistently for the past 40 years, have not been very impressed with Daniels as governor. To the extent there is more widespread Republican dissatisfaction with Daniels, I can imagine that may also hurt McCain, who seems to be another big government conservative along the lines of Bush and Daniels.

I don’t know, obviously, as Indiana keeps sending Dick Lugar back to Washington, and he hasn’t exactly been Mr. Small Government in the lifetime plus he’s been in office. So obviously there are a lot of Republicans in Indiana willing to vote for go along, get along, let’s expand government just a little more slowly than the other guys candidates.

Nov 8, 2008 - 7:34 am 88. ThymeZone:

Uh, no I think you will find tha the Secretary of State totals are way out of date. These are the totals being reported nationally (CNN, and most other sites) …

O 1,367,503 M 1,341,667

These are the Secretary of State totals:

O 1,080,584 M 1,180,502

The state website is just not being maintained. Run by Republicans, maybe?

Nov 8, 2008 - 8:05 am 89. Oklahoma:

It’s interesting that everyone seems to be missing the point of several posters here and on other forums concerning the actual vote totals from Indiana. Didn’t McCain win?

Nov 8, 2008 - 8:19 am 90. KIMBER:

I only hope that in four years we will be able to vote again…. That the precious Obama will not see the need to permantly “mandate” himself as leader for life?

Nov 8, 2008 - 10:07 am 91. Ron Smith:

Indiana is not the rock-ribbed Republican state that most non-Hoosiers seem to think it is. Democrats make up a majority of our Congressional delegation, Democrats control the state House of Representatives, and most of the state’s mayors are Democrats. In Presidential politics, most years the Republicans take the state for granted, and Democrats write it off. This year, conditions were ripe for a bid to turn the state blue: an unpopular war, the economy in meltdown, a sitting Republican President with historically rock-botton approval ratings, and a joined-at-the-hip Republican candidate who had voted with Bush over 90% of the time. Obama took advantage of the changed climate by aggressively courting the state’s voters- he had 44 offices here, compared to a grand total of one for McCain. He put together a winning coalition of Southern Indiana traditional Democrats, the strongly Democratic northwest part of the state, and counties with a large working class and/or college student population. His large margin in Marion County (Indianapolis), which historically was a Republican bastion but has trended Democratic in recent years, made the difference BTW, Kaufman is incorrect in stating that Lake County is predominantly African-American- it’s not. For those of you who are under the delusion that McCain carried the state, I would point out that the Secretary of State’s figures are partial and incomplete, due to our arcane vote-counting laws- it says so right there on his web site. Secretary of State Rokita is a Republican, but wishful thinking/sour grapes/ GOP incompetence/ conspiracy theories don’t apply- he’s doing the best he can within the constraints of the procedures. The real world figures are those reported by the national media. Yes, an African-American Democrat DID carry Indiana this year.

Nov 8, 2008 - 10:53 am 92. myth buster:

Where would the base have gone? To Bob Barr, whom I was going to vote for before he chose Palin, or else to Chuck Baldwin, write in votes for Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul, or else null votes. Yes, McCain lost badly, but if he had chosen anyone but Palin or Huckabee, he would’ve lost 55-35.

As for the racism charge, it’s nonsense. To say he won because he’s black is to say that a white man who was equally (un)qualified could never have won this election. White guilt put him over the top.

Nov 8, 2008 - 3:09 pm 93. WASHINGTON:

By: SpecialistMC
.

I just don’t get it ?

You left out the most important event that at the age of five, Obama’s step father, Lolo Soetoro, adopted him in Indonesia and that made young Barack Obama a ‘Indonesian National’, and NOT and an American citizen.

The U.S. Code, 8 USC 1481, states that you lose your U.S. citizenship when you become a naturalized citizen of another Country.

What is strange and this is fact, just a few years back, Obama travelled under an Indonesian passport when he went to Kenya to help his cousin run for office.

Also there are no records available to show that Obama is a citizen of the US and yet today he is our President-elect.

Where is the News Medias on this, and why the Government cover-up ?

.

November 8, 2008 at 11:42 a.m.

Nov 8, 2008 - 3:47 pm 94. Cheesehead:

Oh puleeze, will everyone get off the voter fraud, bought the election, stupid american electorate crap and start acting like adults. You’re sounding like the Dems after 04.

What pushed Obama over the top in IN was Bob Barr, who took just over 1% away from McCain.

If the GOP doesn’t get it’s collective head out of it’s collective rear and stop acting like a bunch of whiny spoiled brats, you’re gonna get spanked again in 2012.

Nov 8, 2008 - 5:51 pm 95. Emma:

Don’t tell me to get off the voter fraud, I had to hear the Dems yammer on about it for 8 years, I’ll point it out if I like. Cheesehead.

Nov 9, 2008 - 4:03 am 96. PeterH:

It occurs to me that the Dems could forever paint all of America blue, if they improved the education system.

Nov 9, 2008 - 8:14 am 97. nick:

UNLIKE FLORIDA

with the margins, any voter fraud didnt tip the vote!

DUH !

Nov 9, 2008 - 11:47 am 98. nick:

but im wasted time with you losers

we won

bye

Nov 9, 2008 - 1:20 pm 99. Richard B:

I always find Ari Kaufman’s articles extremely well thought out, researched and well said. He leaves no thoughts trailing off into the distance and his writing always forces me to comment. This article is no exception. This was a well balanced piece for the most part and I find the responses interesting as well. Hence, my comments.

The vast majority of the respondents are Republican and almost all share the same view. The thread of thought seems to overwhelmingly think of democrats as ignorant idiots. Do those of you who chose to make comments against both Obama and democrats not think that we have taken in the information presented to us and formed our own opinions based on what we know? Are they to believe that negative articles and media reports stated as “fact” are, indeed always factual? Hence, the devisiveness that made this election such a standout. I’ve voted in 10 presidential elections now and have never seen one quite like this. It was NOT pretty.

Ari’s points are all well taken, even if I don’t agree with all of them. Reading the comments solidify just who a lot of his audience is. Likeminded people who are thrilled to be able to take one more jab at the democrats. At this point, it comes off as sour grapes. At least there was no screaming. Instead of complaining about fraud (of which there is neither proof nor contest) why not join together to try and make this a better nation. Our image and economy are battered and bruised, and our people are fighting with one another over who SHOULD have won? Perhaps some of you should go back and read Ari’s article over again. He’s more well informed than the majority of us and he managed to balance the majority of his article. Why not so many of you?

As Ari states, there’s no denying that the black vote had something to do with Obama’s win in Indiana, but by stating this, does that hint that this is not ok?
Are black people not entitled to vote someone of the same race into office? Granted, hopefully that would not be the ONLY reason. You’re either a qualified candidate or you’re not. How, or why black people in Indiana voted, I don’t know. I firmly believe that Obama will do just fine. He’ll surround himself with qualified people and attempt to move this great country back in the right direction. Why have so little faith in someone before they have a chance? He’ll be leading this country for at least the next four years so an attitude adjustment might be in order.

In Ari’s article, the idea that “people seemed to vote their pocketbooks again in 2008 — which meant voting out the party in executive power, even if the congressional Democrats shared some of the blame, if not the majority” is contentious. I DO agree with the first part, because that’s what most of the country is worried about. How could they/we not be…but that’s negating the fact that there were many other issues and platforms besides the economy that share the stage. Abortion, gun control, choice (on several issues), gay marriage, the war and the list goes on.
It wasn’t JUST the economy. The McCain/Palin ticket began to fail. Who knows why? That will be analyzed for years to come, but….their campaign proved itself to be desparate as election day drew near, and I personally feel they partially lost ground because of it. Palin’s inability to grasp the scope of being the second in command in the U.S. also helped bring them to their knees. I feel that Republicans saw a female candidate making history after Hillary was knocked out of the picture. Others saw a woman who wasn’t well informed and not yet qualified for a job of this loftiness. She was simply out of her element.

Perhaps that was what helped drive Indiana to vote Blue, but that’s not what was totally responsible for Obama’s overwhelming electoral win nationwide any more than congressional democrats sharing some of the blame, if not the majority. Of course the blame, if that’s the right word, is to be shared. Equally, I would guess.

Thankfully, “Radical_Moderate” is more on target for my taste. Do Republicans really think that ALL of us who voted for Obama are uninformed? Or do you think that we actually believed so many made up “facts” about Obama which were so frivolously tossed about by the right in an attempt to dissuade voters? I, too, think that Obama will govern from a balanced point of moderation without backing down from the challenges that he knows will face him. Let’s face facts, McCain is not, nor will he ever be President, so persisting in looking for answers as to why he lost if futile. Let’s leave that to the historians (of which I’m sure that Ari Kaufman WILl be one of them. HE is destined for greatness as well….even if we share a different political persuasion!).

Bonding together as a nation, instead of fighting our new administration will do no one any good.

Welcome to the blue.

Nov 10, 2008 - 12:12 pm 100. justthefacts:

Well done, Richard B ! An erudite and mature response.

Nov 10, 2008 - 1:28 pm 101. hoosiertoo:

I prefer to think of Obama supporters as idiots, or maybe just gulls. I have a hard time believing that the majority of Americans actually buy into the evil that Obama and the Democratic Party are going to foist on the US over (at least) the next four years.

Bonding together as a nation? Not if. Fighting our new administration? Every step. Building a principled opposition out of a Republican Party purged of useful idiots? God willing.

Forging a new nation? If necessary.

Nov 11, 2008 - 7:19 pm 102. Lolita:

As a Virginian, the thing that surprised me the most about the election was VA going blue! It’s never happened in my lifetime. Times are certainly changing in the south, as NC was pretty close as well. Indiana was quite the surprise.

The electoral map looks quite a bit different than in 2004. I think Republicans need to reevaluate the stances of their party. If they focus on conservative government (small federal government and budget) and stop focusing on abortion, gay marriage and other issues that have nothing to do with SMALL GOVERNMENT, I think they might have a chance in 4 or 8 years.

Nov 13, 2008 - 8:03 pm 103. Ms. Know:

He had the mainstream media illuminati to help him. Plus he had lots of money because he lied about taking public financing, that’s how he turned it blue.

Nov 14, 2008 - 12:08 pm

Write a Comment

Name:	(required, displayed)
Email:	(required, not publicized)
URL:	(optional, displayed)
Comments: