This map from the New York Times is a great indication of the swing of the country from when Kerry ran in 2004. This illustrates how effective the Democrats' strategy ended up being.
Barack Obama owes his Presidency to three major things:
First, the economy. The economy reached a point of failure on the very day McCain announced, "The fundamentals of our economy are strong." This shifted the middle in Obama's favor and the daily tracking polls never looked back. Unfortunately, neither has the economy. Mr. Obama has a large plate of problems to digest in his first few months. It will be a true test of his ideas.
Second, the ground game/fundraising effort from the Obama campaign. This election is historic in many ways. One of these was the enormous amount of money raised by small donors by Obama. Obama ended up with THREE MILLION individual donors bringing in a whopping $650 MILLION dollars. It is very difficult to win an election running against those types of numbers. Revisions to campaign finance reform will likely result, due to this.
Third, Howard Dean's 50 state strategy. The person not getting credit where credit is due? Howard Dean. Howard Dean implemented his 50 state strategy in February of 2005 when he became the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. When he first announced his strategy he was met with harsh criticism from many in the Democratic party. However, once the 2006 rout of the Republican Party became evident, many began to support the idea. It was this borrowed GOP post-Watergate idea that sealed the deal for President-Elect Barack Obama. Man I love saying that...
I will leave out what I believe is the fourth reason, Sarah Palin, out of respect. I am endorsing Sarah Palin in 2012 for the Republican Presidential nomination so I cannot, in good conscience, list her as a reason.
Onward to January 20th, 2009 - The End of an Error:
For many, "still President" George W. Bush is a lamest of lame ducks. Nonetheless, Mr. Bush has announced that he will make the next 70+ days of his Presidency about transition. I admire his stance on this and he should be praised for his dedication to the seating of a new First Family. Unfortunately, his transition rhetoric is not without flaw. "Still President" Bush could not leave office without attempting to scare the pants off the American People. Bush warning that terrorists “would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change" is another Rovian attempt to scare the American People in a time of triumph and euphoria. Perhaps he is not wrong in doing so. We should never be complacent again.
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Compliance is Not Consent
7 years ago
