Why McCain Lost
In short, McCain shares a political party with George W Bush. With a weak economy and two wars, the voters were determined to “Throw the bums out.”
Last year, I was talking with Paul Miller who, at the time, was a Rudy Giuliani supporter. I explained to him that, like Bob Dole in 1996, it was McCain’s “turn”. Not that he would necessarily be the best candidate for the GOP, but that he would be what people could settle on as a candidate who “won’t burn the place down” to quote a popular dorm presidency candidate.
Every two years, House Reps and (1/3 of) Senators have to face their constituents. The fact of the matter is that the Republican Party hasn’t earned the voters’ trust. Regardless of the fact that the President and Congress were of different parties, the electorate blames its problems on the President. The coattails work both way. Obama had a good night as Bush had a bad one.
Had the economy continued to hum along as it had since 2003, this election may have been very different. Had the current administration brought Osama bin Laden to justice, this election may have been very different. Had the President not enacted the most sweeping rollback of freedoms in modern history, this election may have been very different. Had Cunningham, Foley and the rest served their constituents without being assholes, this election may have been very different.
John McCain is a good man who served his country honorably in Vietnam, the House and Senate. Short of wearing long hair and white robes, there was virtually no way he could stem the tide of what is being called a “vote revolt” (even though popular votes are still pretty much 50/50 indicating otherwise). This was the time for a Democratic president. Like Dole, McCain ended up being a sacrificial lamb.
The Republican party has much to do in the next two years to regain the trust of the people. I’ll write on that another time.
In the meantime, with this election concluded, I can now formally announce my intention to run for President of the United States in 2012. It will be a tough campaign, but like the voters tonight, I’m tired of business as usual in Washington. And despite Obama’s victory, it will continue to be more of the same.