Final score: Passion-1 and John McCain-zero.
You could feel it. The Democrats had passion and showed up
at the polls in huge numbers to prove it, and while the McCain
supporters liked their guy, they did not have the "P" word and sort
of ho-hummed him into the loss column.
The hand writing for this was on the wall. All you had to
do was look at the crowds each candidate attracted. Obama with his
rock star persona waltzed onto the stage in one venue after another
and the crowd went nuts. McCain took the podium and got applause but
the contrast was striking. It wasn't until the hockey mom showed up
that the noise and excitement meter went up a couple of notches only
to falter after most voters figured out she was not ready for prime
time.
Of course, the McCain loss went deeper than passion. It
looks like he had the whole deck stacked against him: George B. Bush,
a rotten economy, the Wall Street crash, his economic blueprint
looked tattered and worn, and of course he was up against the agent
of change, Barack Obama.
As Republicans wake up to a splitting political headache,
they now have a chance to open a much needed discussion on where this
state and national party is headed. Obviously the old playbook of tax
cuts, wedge issues such as gay marriage, and fiscal responsibility
are not making it.
In fact, the GOP brand on balancing the budget was destroyed
by the soon to be ex-prez "W" who hands over to Mr.Obama a staggering
sea of red ink.
Meanwhile, having successfully navigated a grueling campaign,
the president-elect now confronts and even greater challenge: Governing.