Post-Mortem

Well, let's be honest, we all kind of knew that this could turn out to be a really....bad day - and so it has. First off, congrats Barack, you won and have now probably inspired a whole new generation of African-Americans (among others) to actually give a damn about politics and their country. That's no small feat.

Second off, the good news (what little of it there is): Namely, that Democratic gains in both the House and the Senate were not as severe as forecasted. The minimum number of House seats the GOP was supposed to lose was 24; at this point it looks like we'll lose either 19 or 20. Not good, for sure, but not catastrophic either.

In the Senate, the Democrats are going to fail to get their 60 seat supermajority. We already have 40 seats, with four results still pending. In Georgia, assuming he stays above 50% when the last 1% of precincts report in, Saxby Chambliss will retain his seat. Norm Coleman has already eked out a narrow victory in Minnesota, but law requires it go to a recount before being made official due to the razor-thin margin. In Oregon, Gordon Smith, surprisingly, has a chance to hold onto his seat, for (as I write this) 76% of the vote is in and he is virtually tied with his Democratic opponent at 47%. And finally, in what has to be the most interesting result of the evening, it appears GOP Senator Ted Stevens, he of the 7 felony convictions, will win his re-election bid. In all likelihood the Senate will kick him out when it reconvenes, and then Gov. Palin will pick a replacement to serve for 2 months until a special election is held. With the right pick (Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell!!), this seat should stay in the GOP column.

Nevertheless folks, start battening down the hatches - for the countdown to Jimmy Carter Deux is on!

On a more personal note, let me now thank Senator McCain and Governor Palin for their campaign; as it was an honor and a pleasure to volunteer on their behalf, even if it was, ultimately, a losing effort. Theirs was probably the most uphill campaign any Presidential candidate has ever had to run - and that includes when Gerald Ford ran with Nixon's resignation hanging around his neck. As I said back before the South Carolina GOP primary, there was no Republican candidate who could have done better, win or lose, in this election than John McCain. If McCain couldn't win this election, no Republican could have. The fact that he ever even had a chance is a testament to the man and his determination. It hasn't always been the best-run or most effective of campaigns; but, in my mind, it will forever be associated with the masterstroke of Sarah Palin.

Don't forget her, folks. As Ahnuld would say, she'll be back; and I really believe that she will one day be my President. And Governor, whenever you do decide to run again, you've got my (S.C Primary) vote - and, rest assured, I'll be ready and willing to work my ass off for you.

But now let's get back to good ol' Johnny Mac. As you may know, I haven't always agreed with the man, on both style and substance, but I have come to respect him immensely over the last few months. As I watched him giving his concession speech last night, and listened to him talk for one last time about his country, I realized something; and that's simply that they just don't make many Men like that anymore - and it's a damn shame.

His has been a life of hard knocks, one of ups and downs, and yet one with the kind of rugged character that we have come to expect from those in his generation. Above all, however, his has been a life about self-sacrifice for greater and more important causes.

Country First. I hope one day I understand that as well as he does.

The Unique Strengths Of John McCain

I'll be honest, the thought of John McCain as the Republican Presidential nominee doesn't excite me near as much as I suppose it should. I disagree with him on several issues, including such things as immigration and global warming. However, all those political differences aside, the more I think about it, the more I've come to realize that McCain is the perfect candidate for the Republicans in 2008. No matter how hard they searched, the GOP would not have been able to find a candidate better suited or more likely to give them a victory in November. This is not to say that he will, in fact, win this November, but rather to say that no one would have been able to do better, as the Republican Presidential nominee in 2008, than John McCain will, win or lose, do. In my mind, this is the largely the case due to the following 3 reasons.

1. He's a very media savvy politician. Much as it may disgruntle staunch conservatives, McCain's past status as a media darling with the traditional mainstream media outlets has given him a better knowledge of the media's modus operandi than almost any other Republican out there. Witness his response to the New York Times' attempt, earlier this year, to smear him with rumors of an inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist, where he got out front of the story and managed to make the Times look even more foolish than it normally does and gain some brownie points with that oft-estranged conservative base. In an election where he will likely face Barack Obama, a true media-darling, McCain's skill at managing and manipulating the media will be a huge campaign asset.

2. His Reputation. Like it or not, one of the unique things about the United States, in comparison to most other countries, is that we tend to have very few political radicals. Much to the chagrin of many hard-core conservatives (and liberals), most Americans do, in fact, tend to be 'in the middle' or at least have strong centrist tendencies - and John McCain fits the bill of what many of these folks are looking for almost to a T. He is an independent/moderate Republican with a reputation for getting things done; and voters know this, and like it. Indeed, it's quite ironic that, in an election cycle where so much attention has been focused on "change," one of McCain's biggest strengths will undoubtedly the lengthy résumé of his political career. To put it another way, Americans seems to, for whatever reason, view John McCain as an 'Experienced Agent of Change,' if you will; and so, all of the reservations that they may have otherwise had about a guy with as long and detailed of a résumé as his, they simply will not have about McCain.

3. The constant criticism He receives from fellow Republicans. Yes, my good conservative friends, the more you keep criticising McCain, the more likely you make it that he will win in November. Indeed, this November, as the House GOP leaders seem to have just figured out earlier today, Republicans are going to have a good-ol'-fashion-can of whoop ass opened up on them in the Congressional elections. They're going to lose a few more seats in the Senate and take big losses in the House; moreover, it's a trend that's likely to continue right on down the line to local elections as well. The reason for this is that the GOP 'brand,' as we refer to it in politics, had been badly damaged. Lots of folks are going to be going to the polls this November saying to themselves "I just can't take more of the Republicans" and thus pulling the lever for the Democrats. Therefore, the more John McCain is seen as being different from or, in some cases, downright hostile to, that brand, the more likely he is to win. As McCain continues to receive criticism from other Republicans for not being conservative enough, he not only continues to pad his aforementioned reputation as an Independent, but, more importantly, he is also able to further distance himself from all of the brand-issues the GOP is going to be having in November.

In my opinion, these three factors, taken in combination, make John McCain a very formidable General Election candidate for the 2008 Presidential race - in spite of the many things he will have going against him. Indeed, I actually believe that McCain has a fairly decent chance to win the Presidency, particularly when one couples his characteristics as a person and candidate with the ugly mess that the Democratic Primary has become. Moreover, I think that, contrary to what I would have assumed just a few weeks ago, Obama (who, for all intents and purposes, will eventually be the Dem nominee) actually makes an easier General Election opponent. Crazy, I know, given Hillary's Everest-sized negatives, but between his recent gaffes and Hillary's continuing, remind-the-Reagan-Democrats-why-they-once-voted-Republican campaign, Obama seems much more vulnerable to me now than he once did.

I know, I know, Obamarama still has his magically-invincible HopeChangeLoveandPuppies thing going on, but John McCain has ready all the tools to give him one hell of a fight.