williamsjoseph's blog

First off, let's give John McCain a break; he ran in a nearly impossible year for Republicans. The Democrats pulled out the powerball with the timing of the economic crisis (I'd swear they had a hand in its timing, it was so flawless). Bush's approval  numbers continue to fall and war fatigue has taken over the electorate. Add to that a MSM that was in love with the Obama narrative and dropped their infatuation with McCain even faster than they had Hillary.

Given all these things--the election was still winnable for McCain! He seemed to wallow at times in the idea of running a "noble" campaign. At times we saw the fire that we knew was there--for example in his acceptance speech--but all too often it wasn't displayed. He performed dismally in the debates, allowing one opportunity after another to paint the fragile Obama policies into a corner slip away. He sought a spark for his campaign in the Palin selection, then smothered it by mishandling her time and time again (think about those awful MSM interviews). He failed to coherently spell out a simple startegic message and he allowed his opponent to label him (Bush III). In short, although a fine and honorable man, McCain and his team ran a poor campaign. Where was his Rove? his Atwater?

Republicans have much rebuilding work to do, but if the Left thinks that these results prove some new radical leftward shift, they will not long hold the reins of power. Afterall, McCain came awfullt close to winning.

I'm trying to remember the last time the Left was so thoroughly enamored with their candidate. Every media outlet, pundit and pol is downright smitten with the very idea of Obama. Of course the Left loved Bill Clinton (and, for awhile, even loved his wife) but this type of adulation is surely unprecedented. Along with such puppy love comes a total lack of scrutiny of any of his policies or proposals. It is clear that there is a teenage crush on Obama by many on the Left. But why Obama and why now?

If one goes back to the Carter Presidency, the left has been on the run since 1980. With the singular exception of 1993-94, the Democrats have taken the backseat of power for the last 28 years. Tiring of sitting on the bench, the Left has been willing to embrace any candidate they think can bring them back to respectability. They are so frightened of 4 more years in the wilderness, that they will accept any candidate that has a chance of winning. Enter Barack Obama. The Democrats sense that he is the right candidate at the right time. His policies are not as important as the fact that he can bring them the White House. A week before the election, they are flush with enthusiasm and confidence. They feel the power of a tsunami of "Change" that is approaching shore. However, they should remember that the tsunami, when it retreats, takes much back out to sea with it.