POLITICS: Obama wins, Yet World Doesn't End

*Posted November 11, 2008*

Time for some hardcore analysis of why Obama creamed McCain in the election on Tuesday. Firstly, the economic crisis annihilated any hope of a Republican victory. Reagan reborn wouldn't have beaten Obama this week. The uneducated voters who rely only on soundbites and headlines placed the blame at the Republican doorstep, and the Democratic party successfully reinforced that notion every day. It didn't matter it was a national ad for Obama or a local ad in Bellefonte for Joanne Tosti-Vasey, every candidate for every level of government began their attack ads by saying "(Insert GOP candidate) supports the failed Bush economic policies." And just like that, GOPpers lost across the board. So you could say that terrible timing sank the GOP machine, but there's more. McCain's campaign strategy appeared weak from the start. It didn't help that the party of old white men elected the oldest white man to represent them. Recognizing the strength of his opponent, McCain knew that his only shot at winning would be to win the Bush states of 2004 and achieve narrow victory. He had absolutely no chance at winning Kerry battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, but he also quickly lost momentum in Bush winners like Ohio and Virginia. So basically, McCain couldn't stop Obamamania, and that's the biggest reason why. But you have to hand it to Obama, who survived wave after wave of dubious character associations and became President solely because of one word --"change." It didn't matter that most of his supporters didn't know what that change would entail, it just sounded good to them. Now the real test for P-Elect Obama. He's promised again and again to unite the country. There is no red America and blue America but the United States of America! Remember that? He has two courses of action. One: work across the aisle with Republicans and try to rule the country from the center, which can be done. Two: Utilize the majorities in both houses and push a liberal agenda. We really have no idea what he's going to do because he has no record of leading anything, but he certainly cannot hope to push his big spending policies through just yet (the economy would collapse). If I were a betting man, I would assume he would take road number 2. He owes a lot of favors to nutjobs like ACORN, moveon.org, and the other far-left loonies that raised tons of money and helped him get elected. It would be very hard for him to turn his back on the forces that got him elected. I'm willing to give him a shot, but I suspect that my ideals will probably be ignored for 4 years. For some crazy bonus coverage, take a look at this video from a Finnish Documentary about the Presidential election. It's the scariest 3 minutes you'll see today. An American schoolteacher (3rd or 4th grade) is talking to her kids about the election, but you find out quickly what her thoughts are. Poor kids.