Posted on 11/06/2008 8:24:37 PM PST by Publius804
What the Election Should Teach the Republicans
Thursday, November 6, 2008 6:24 PM
By: Christopher Ruddy
The 2008 election is not yet a distant memory, and there are important lessons to be learned.
A good accounting of what happened will help Republicans make a comeback.
Here’s my take:
Republicans need a candidate who’s unafraid of being a Republican. For a 72-year-old, John McCain gave an impressive campaign performance, but he lost. Why? Because he failed to articulate exactly how his opponent was such a danger to our economy, national security, and American values.
The vice president counts. Sarah Palin gave McCain a huge boost and helped propel him to front-runner status by mid-September. She soon became a media target. After a stream of negative articles that went unchallenged, her favorability ratings declined among swing voters. Still, Palin did a remarkable job of bringing charisma to the ticket and raising money.
The media bias was simply unbelievable. With the exception of Fox News, Newsmax, talk radio and a handful of outlets, the major media worked overtime to elect Barack Obama. Despite all the talk of a profusion of media with cable and the Internet, the media continues to be the same old media.
Money can buy an election. Obama raised a record-breaking $650 million to win the White House. Compare that to what McCain received — $85 million — from federal financing. If Obama did not have such a huge money advantage, it is doubtful that he would have snatched the nomination from Hillary Clinton, let alone the White House from McCain.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
the pubies are either going to have to buy a tv network,
or learn to respond to democrat media attacks on the person.
i’m tired of this.
president george w bush did nothing to enhance his image.
he should have regularly explained his policies to the american people.
not doing so left him vulnerable, and his successor candidate as well.
I don’t know how much money McCain could have raised privately. He doesn’t have the corrupt billionaire friends that Obama has. He doesn’t have the Chicago machine. He doesn’t have a ton of foreign donors. He doesn’t sell his honor for profit. And he isn’t very popular among the base.
Which is another way of saying that he was a poor candidate. He could Reach Across the Aisle as often as he liked during the campaign, but he wasn’t going to get any contributions from the Kennedys or the Feingolds.
Sarah inspired the base, but there again, it’s doubtful that ordinary, patriotic Americans could match the funding from Obama’s corrupt machine.
Note that my tagline(stolen from another astute FReeper 3 weeks ago) says it all.
Exactly. check my blog postfor today. I said the same thing.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Agreed. It’s why he’s trying to hang it all on Palin. That man is a disgrace.
This election raises many issues that we need to confront and diligently attack. Obama raised millions of dollars that can not be traced to confirm they are legal; voter registration fraud is unchecked; the media bias is reminiscent of the old Soviet Union. Unfortunately, it looks like the worst is yet to come. A Chief of Staff who sent a dead fish to someone he disagreed with? Is this really a sign of solidarity? Hardly.
And let's face it...everyone swarmed to Palin because she was the antithesis of stiff and not because she deserved to be his running mate. We rallied to her because she's all we had.
She's likeable, apparently conservative, an attractive candidate, can give good speeches. But she was industrial strength unqualified to be VP, just as Obama is industrial strength unqualified to be president.
McCain thought the chickie vote would flock to him because of her, and he was wrong. Feminists will sell out a fellow woman YESTERDAY and excuse any atrocity against women as long as the perpetrator shares their politics.
It sure does look that way doesn't it. Palin, the true Conservative, takes the high road and talks highly of McCain while McCain, the reach across the aisle some may say RINO, lets his campaign team unleash on Palin. I have yet to hear a sound bite from McCain thanking Plain for energizing his listless campaign.
Oh, yes, and I didn't know that he had recycled Bob Dole's old team from twelve years ago, another old compromiser who did not want to win. It was "their" turn, it seems, and gullible Republican primary voters fell for these flawed figures.
I've through the same thing many times - it's like the nomination was his goal, not the presidency.
He didn't. Not ever.
A local talkshow host tried an experiment last week. He sent online contributions to both campaigns, using his own credit card name and number, but from “George W Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave” for Obama and from “Barack Obama” to John McCain. The McCain contribution was refused due to a mismatch, but the Obama contribution went right through.
No more old war heroes.
c’mon folks.
people voted against
George Bush.
Until we find a way, and the will, to insist that a candidate prove his or her qualifications the whole election process is a sham.
If this had been a horse race Obama would not even been allowed into the starting gate, much less run the race.
Hardly. The Dem and RINO votes in New Hampshire gave him enough "momentum" that the press annointed him, Politico regularly knifed FRed in the back (tho' he was lackadaisical in his campaign), and Huckabee stayed around...why?
Given the rumors that it has been Romneybots bad-mouthing Palin (pray for her and her family...!), it'll be interesting to see how Romney positions himself going down the road.
Although if the economy tanks as bad as it did under Carter, I don't think a tycoon is going to play very well.
Maybe Sarah was four years too *early*.
Kyrie Eleison!
I would bet she was responsible for 90% of the Conservative votes cast for McCain. It would have been a Zero landslide if it weren't for her.
And now, in typical republicrat fashion, its all HER fault simply because she is not one of the blue-blood establishment losers who love to lose that inhabit the party.
I personally do not see the republicans as a viable party any longer. They are too interested in getting along with donks to ever be successful on their own. They aren't interested in hearing from Conservatives.
I've seen multiple posts today citing news stories about how mccain and his bud Lindsay (isn't that a girl's name?) can't wait to get back to work butt-snorkelling the Senate donks and thus putting the screws to Conservatives and the rest of the American sheeple.
What a fine mess we've gotten ourselves into this time!
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