Pennsylvania Goes to Obama;
McCain Certain to Lose
Tom Ridge would have carried this state for McCain and he can’t win without it.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
ProConPundit Nothing If Not Loyal
In my first presidential election in 1980, in the primary I took a Democratic ballot and voted for Ted Kennedy over Jimmy Carter. In my own youthful view, I thought Ted Kennedy was more conservative, more competent than Jimmy Carter. In the general election of 1980, I was one of 6.6% of the American people who voted for Illinois Congressman John Anderson over Reagan and Carter.
I have voted for losers (Bush I, Dole, Kerry) and winners (Bush I, Bush II) but, until today, I have never been hesitant in a voting booth as to who to vote for.
Part of me wanted to be on the right side of history–for once. I voted against Reagan and clearly history is on the side of his presidency, for its great achievements and in spite of its flaws. I have tended to think I was on the wrong side of history by twice voting against Bill Clinton even thoughI joined 57% of Americans in voting against him in 1992 and 50.8% of American in rejecting him in 1996.
I passed on the presidential pick and completed the rest of the ballot. Then I went back. I love Joe Biden and I do think Obama will win and yet, not only could I not vote for them, I could not even flirt with the idea. I had to vote for John McCain. He’s run a terrible campaign but I do admire him and, in the end, I’ll stick with him knowing history was moving in another direction.
In my first presidential election in 1980, in the primary I took a Democratic ballot and voted for Ted Kennedy over Jimmy Carter. In my own youthful view, I thought Ted Kennedy was more conservative, more competent than Jimmy Carter. In the general election of 1980, I was one of 6.6% of the American people who voted for Illinois Congressman John Anderson over Reagan and Carter.
I have voted for losers (Bush I, Dole, Kerry) and winners (Bush I, Bush II) but, until today, I have never been hesitant in a voting booth as to who to vote for.
Part of me wanted to be on the right side of history–for once. I voted against Reagan and clearly history is on the side of his presidency, for its great achievements and in spite of its flaws. I have tended to think I was on the wrong side of history by twice voting against Bill Clinton even thoughI joined 57% of Americans in voting against him in 1992 and 50.8% of American in rejecting him in 1996.
I passed on the presidential pick and completed the rest of the ballot. Then I went back. I love Joe Biden and I do think Obama will win and yet, not only could I not vote for them, I could not even flirt with the idea. I had to vote for John McCain. He’s run a terrible campaign but I do admire him and, in the end, I’ll stick with him knowing history was moving in another direction.
McCain and ProConPundit In Touch With Reality
John McCain knows he has lost this race. He knew it at the Al Smith Dinner in Manhattan on October 16 when he said, "In the event that I am actually to pull out a victory."
There is a sense in which no Republican could have won. One of the reasons John McCain was nominated was because, among let’s face it–a lackluster field of candidates, McCain was believed to be more popular among moderates and independents.
He has run a dismal campaign. He ran a campaign from and for the far right. In his apparent psychological need to prove to the right that he was one of them, he has won the battle–and presumably lost the war.
He ran on experience and showed none. He had nothing to say about our economic crisis other than our economic fundamentals were fine. He pushed a lot of photo ops by hanging out in DC during the crisis but accomplished nothing.
On the largest amount of "socialism," "redistribution," that has ever happened in our nation’s history, we took $ 750 million dollars of working people’s money to bail out Wall Street. This bill was laden with pork and goodies and Mr. "No Pork Barrel Spending" McCain voted for it.
I’ll have more to say later about Sarah Palin and the train wreck that has been her rise to prominence. She solidified a right wing base that would have voted for McCain over Obama under any conditions. Other choices like Tom Ridge would have won Pennsylvania for McCain while Susan Collins, liberal Republican Senator from Maine, would have actually attracted Hillary Clinton supporters and brought a triple digit IQ to the GOP ticket.
John McCain knows he has lost this race. He knew it at the Al Smith Dinner in Manhattan on October 16 when he said, "In the event that I am actually to pull out a victory."
There is a sense in which no Republican could have won. One of the reasons John McCain was nominated was because, among let’s face it–a lackluster field of candidates, McCain was believed to be more popular among moderates and independents.
He has run a dismal campaign. He ran a campaign from and for the far right. In his apparent psychological need to prove to the right that he was one of them, he has won the battle–and presumably lost the war.
He ran on experience and showed none. He had nothing to say about our economic crisis other than our economic fundamentals were fine. He pushed a lot of photo ops by hanging out in DC during the crisis but accomplished nothing.
On the largest amount of "socialism," "redistribution," that has ever happened in our nation’s history, we took $ 750 million dollars of working people’s money to bail out Wall Street. This bill was laden with pork and goodies and Mr. "No Pork Barrel Spending" McCain voted for it.
I’ll have more to say later about Sarah Palin and the train wreck that has been her rise to prominence. She solidified a right wing base that would have voted for McCain over Obama under any conditions. Other choices like Tom Ridge would have won Pennsylvania for McCain while Susan Collins, liberal Republican Senator from Maine, would have actually attracted Hillary Clinton supporters and brought a triple digit IQ to the GOP ticket.
WHAT A COUNTRY!
Election coverage from Undisclosed bunker of ProConPundit, Chicago, IL
As we begin this election night and the end to a long, long, and frankly, fantastic campaign, I have to say that it has not been as much fun without Tim Russert. He often quoted his dad who would often say, "WHAT A COUNTRY!" I think that’s a great mantra come what may this night. It’s been an amazing, fun, maddening, long-suffering campaign season. It’s not Ford vs. Carter or Bush vs. Gore–this is not a choice between dull and duller. It’s not Bush vs. Dukakis or Reagan vs. Mondale or Clinton vs. Dole–where we know what is going to happen and its all perfunctory. The night will likely be a sizable victory for Obama but we don’t know for sure and, in any case, we are, as Americans, moving in a new and better direction. All I can say is; "WHAT A COUNTRY!"
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