Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said it best tonight: Republicans failed to connect with voters nationwide on bread-and-butter issues and on everyday concerns.
They underestimated people's concerns about the economy.
And it's time for the GOP to conduct some internal soul-searching and self-evaluation.
Enter Barack Obama, who is certain to win the presidency tonight (He's leading 200-124 in electorate votes and well on his way to the clinching 270 with wins in Ohio and Pennsylvania). I'm not sure it mattered who the GOP presidential candidate was.
Obama? The right guy at the right time. His skill was tapping into the unrest of average Americans and articulating thoughts to address their economic concerns.
He doesn't have much administrative experience but I get the sense that this was the first presidential election in my lifetime where I felt that we're all in this together.
There was good news this time around. McCain wasn't a Republican idealogue and Obama will likely include Cabinet members with GOP backgrounds. And the visceral meanness of the W.-Cheney team in 2000 and 2004 campaigns and elections was missing in '08.
By the way, I like this Pawlenty guy from Minnesota. He has Palin's down-to-earth touch with a ton more credibility.
Too bad McCain didn't pick him as the VP running mate.
Now, I'm still waiting to see one thing: Barack on a bicycle.
1 comment:
Here's the only shot I've seen of him on a bike:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/the-obama-on-a.html
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