Reflection on the Election

A few odds and ends:

1. McCain's reaction to the economic meltdown, not the meltdown itself cost him the election. When the Wall Street dominoes began to fall, McCain was up in the polls (recall Lipstick on a Pig-Gate and the "Celebrity" ad). While I admit that economic issues tend to favor democrats, the meltdown provided the county with a rare opportunity to watch how both candidates handled themselves during an actual national crisis. As we all know McCain's behavior was, to say the least, erratic. He started out by saying that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong," the he called for a "blue-ribbon panel" to investigate the causes of the problem, the he suggested that were he President he would fire SEC Chairman Christopher Cox - a power the President does not have - then he "suspended his campaign" and tried to call off the debate, then he unsuspended his campaign before the problem was actually solved, and so on. While it may well be that no Republican could win this year, I am convinced that if McCain, not Obama, had been the one that came off as most Presidential (steady, calm, self-assured) then he might have had a shot at the election. Instead, his behavior when viewed in light of Barak Obama's likely convinced voters who still had doubts about Obama's readiness that such fears were unfounded.

2. Sarah Palin is a joke and the McCain campaign should be ashamed of itself for foisting her upon the American people during a time of national crisis. We all knew she was dumb, but now that the campaign is over McCain surrogates and reporters sworn to secrecy until after the election are savaging her. For example, she did not know that Africa is a continent.



I mean, Country First? The next few days should be interesting as McCain tries to place the blame for his defeat squarely on her shoulders. Me, I welcome such a development. Now that there is no longer a chance she will ever be close to the Presidency, I can laugh at her without feeling fear.

3. I don't know about you, but its a little strange seeing Barak Obama now and realizing he is actually the President. At the same time, I think his transition from candidate to President will be an interesting one to watch. I've heard Barak described as a "blank-slate" on which all of us whom were his supporters could project our own hopes and dreams. I think there is a lot of truth to that. Barak the candidate was an ideal, and Barak the President will have to work really hard to live up to it. It will be interesting to see how the country reacts when we realize, as we inevitably will, that Barak is flawed, will make mistakes, and is incapable of fixing everything overnight. I hope we are all as patient as we were (and are) hopeful.

More to come . . .