Hold on just one damn minute...

[Moe_Syzlak]

This is actually the biggest shift. Black voters often vote for the the Dem pres. candidate at a 90% clip, so a 5% increase within the 13% population doesn't account for the 6.5% popular vote victory.

Right and it seems unlikely Hispanics voted for Obama because he is black. There is a sort of friction between Hispanics and African Americans. It was actually viewed early in the primary cycle as something that Obama would have to overcome.

 

A quick search turned up this article, but I'm sure there is more commentary out there on this.

 

Over the last two decades, there has been evidence of growing hostility from Hispanics toward African Americans. Some of this hostility is the result of conflicts, or perceived conflicts, over politically controlled resources in cities and states. But as Tanya K. Hernandez, a professor of law at George Washington, has argued recently, it may also be a legacy of an older Latin American prejudice against blacks that has been transplanted to this country.

[Good Old Neon]

Andrew Sullivan:

 

Why Palin still matters

 

Some readers think my continuing attempt to expose all the lies and flim-flam and bizarre behavior of Sarah Palin is now moot. She's history - they argue. Move on. I think she probably is history. Even Bill Kristol and his minions in the McCain-Palin campaign may not be able to resuscitate her political viability now. But even if she is history, she is history that matters.

 

Let's be real in a way the national media seems incapable of: this person should never have been placed on a national ticket in a mature democracy. She was incapable of running a town in Alaska competently. The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months - and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish - is a sign of their total loss of nerve. That the Palin absurdity should follow the two-term presidency of another individual utterly out of his depth in national government is particularly troubling. 46 percent of Americans voted for the possibility of this blank slate as president because she somehow echoed their own sense of religious or cultural "identity". Until we figure out how this happened, we will not be able to prevent it from happening again. And we have to find a way to prevent this from recurring.

 

It happened because John McCain is an incompetent and a cynic and reckless beyond measure. To have picked someone he'd only met once before, without any serious vetting procedure, revealed McCain as an utterly unserious character, a man whose devotion to the shallowest form of political gamesmanship trumped concern for his country's or his party's interest. We need a full accounting of the vetting process: who was responsible for this act of political malpractice? How could a veep not be vetted in any serious way? Why was she not asked to withdraw as soon as the facts of her massive ignorance and delusional psyche were revealed?

 

The Palin nightmare also happened because a tiny faction of political professionals has far too much sway in the GOP and conservative circles. This was Bill Kristol's achievement.

 

It was a final product of the now-exhausted strategy of fomenting fundamentalist resentment to elect politicians dedicated to the defense of Israel and the extension of American military hegemony in every corner of the globe. Palin was the reductio ad absurdum of this mindset: a mannequin candidate, easily controlled ideologically, deployed to fool and corral the resentful and the frightened, removed from serious scrutiny and sold on propaganda networks like a food product.

 

This deluded and delusional woman still doesn't understand what happened to her; still has no self-awareness; and has never been forced to accept her obvious limitations. She cannot keep even the most trivial story straight; she repeats untruths with a ferocity and calm that is reserved only to the clinically unhinged; she has the educational level of a high school drop-out; and regards ignorance as some kind of achievement. It is excruciating to watch her - but more excruciating to watch those who feel obliged to defend her.

Her candidacy, in short, was indefensible. It remains indefensible. Until the mainstream media, the GOP establishment, and the conservative intelligentsia acknowledge the depth of their error, this blog will keep demanding basic accountability.

 

My point is not to persecute or hound some random person. I wish I had never heard of Sarah Palin. I wish this nightmare had never happened. I wish totally innocent by-standers, like Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston and Heather Bruce and Trig Palin, had not had their lives disrupted by this circus. It's distressing to everyone, which is why most journalists left many aspects of this charade alone. But Palin is claiming vindication, is on every cable show, is at the National Governors Association Conference, and is touted as a future leader of the GOP. There comes a point at which you have to simply call a time out and insist that this farce cease and some basic accountability and transparency be restored to the process. Since no one else seems willing to do so, the Dish will stay on the case. So where are those medical records anyway?

[mountain bed]

Joe, that article nails it.

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Economy - takes historic drop.

War - most people hate it and want us out.

Bush's approval rating - 25 percent.

TV personalities ripped Bush a new a-hole every night. SNL couldn't have been more lopsided.

The Oprah factor.

Congress approval rating - about 15 percent.

Blacks voted 95 percent for Obama.

Republican votes were down 2 percent this election.

Democrat vote was up 3 percent.

McCain pissed off many Conservatives....many decided to stay home on election day.

Hispanics...who voted 44-44 last election, voted about 62-32 against McCain...despite McCain being much on their side.

White guilt voters. There are TONS of squishy white voters who feel all tingly inside because they voted for a man of color....deny it all you want, but it's true. I know some of these people.

 

 

All of these are factors.

 

Go ahead and believe Obama won simply "because he was the best candidate". I don't.

 

Obama was the best organized

Obama raised more money

Obama eschewed public financing

Obama ran the perfect campaign

Obama deftly turned the tables on the Republican campaign by turning ever question into a smear. He anti-switboated the Republicans...well done sir.

 

If Obama is as good a president as he was a campaigner...Katy bar the door.

[MrRain422]

Actually, though, 2004 was the anomaly the among Hispanic vote, and even in that year, the Democrat was more popular. This years election was more in line with longer term trends:

 

In 2008, Hispanics favored Obama over McCain 67%-31%

In 2004, Hispanics favored Kerry over Bush 53%-44%.

In 2000, Hispanics favored Gore over Bush 63%-35%.

In 1996, Hispanics favored Clinton over Dole 72%-21%.

In 1992, Hispanics favored Clinton over Bush 61%-25%.

[jakobnicholas]

Andrew Sullivan:

 

Why Palin still matters

 

 

 

I don't get the reason for this guy writing the article.

 

Guess what? America voted, and McCain/Palin lost. Maybe America agreed with Sullivan that she wasn't fit for VP.

 

 

 

I can't help but wonder if the reason so many Democrats seem consumed with Palin is that they're afraid of her. They know she's not the dolt portrayed by Tina Fey. They see the crowds that show up when she speaks. They worry she'll be on the ticket in 2012, so take any chance they can to write her off.

[jakobnicholas]

Obama was the best organized

Obama raised more money

Obama eschewed public financing

Obama ran the perfect campaign

Obama deftly turned the tables on the Republican campaign by turning ever question into a smear.

 

 

 

I agree with you.

 

 

Which emphasizes my point that just because Obama won, doesn't mean he was the best candidate.

 

 

(I'd say the same thing about Bush in 2004.....Rove won that race more than Bush did.)

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

Well I, for one, am afraid of her. Afraid that she could hold some position of further responsibility by some fluke. I don't think she'd make it out of the Republican presidential primary and would be mostly glad if she did.

[Mrs. Peel]

I don't get the reason for this guy writing the article.

 

Guess what? America voted, and McCain/Palin lost. Maybe America agreed with Sullivan that she wasn't fit for VP.

 

Because he was getting emails asking why he was still looking for answers to unanswered questions.

 

 

 

I can't help but wonder if the reason so many Democrats seem consumed with Palin is that they're afraid of her. They know she's not the dolt portrayed by Tina Fey. They see the crowds that show up when she speaks. They worry she'll be on the ticket in 2012, so take any chance they can to write her off.

 

Yeah. Afraid of her. She's really smart and hid it. That's it.

[Moe_Syzlak]

I agree with you.

 

 

Which emphasizes my point that just because Obama won, doesn't mean he was the best candidate.

 

 

(I'd say the same thing about Bush in 2004.....Rove won that race more than Bush did.)

Isn't that completely subjective? I think Obama is a far better candidate than McCain for how I feel the country should be run over the next 4-8 years. Add the complete tickets and its laughable. Your mileage may vary, but to write off everyone that voted for Obama as being duped by a well-run campaign (which is what you seem to imply) is pretty insulting.

[mfwahl]

I don't get the reason for this guy writing the article.

 

Guess what? America voted, and McCain/Palin lost. Maybe America agreed with Sullivan that she wasn't fit for VP.

 

 

 

I can't help but wonder if the reason so many Democrats seem consumed with Palin is that they're afraid of her. They know she's not the dolt portrayed by Tina Fey. They see the crowds that show up when she speaks. They worry she'll be on the ticket in 2012, so take any chance they can to write her off.

He wrote the article because her candidacy is symptomatic of a larger problem. He makes good points. How did the GOP have her on the ticket when our nation is in turmoil and continue to point to her as the future of the party, how did the press not call this out as irresponsible farce, and how did so many people vote for the ticket she was on.

 

What you say about being afraid is partially true. Many people are afraid that so many people come out to see her and that she could be on a ticket in 2012. But it's not about losing, per se. I mostly vote Democrat, but I don't really care that much if the person I voted for lost as long as the winner is capable to do their job. The fear comes from the fact that Sarah Palin's candidacy makes us aware of how sad American politics have become. A lot of people may like Sarah Palin, but it is irresponsible to consider her for one of the most important offices in the land.

[Moe_Syzlak]

If Obama proves me wrong and I want an alternative in four years, I am afraid my option will be Palin or someone of her ilk as opposed to someone more of the Goldwater/Lincoln brand of conservatism.

[John Smith]

I don't get the reason for this guy writing the article.

 

Guess what? America voted, and McCain/Palin lost. Maybe America agreed with Sullivan that she wasn't fit for VP.

 

 

 

I can't help but wonder if the reason so many Democrats seem consumed with Palin is that they're afraid of her. They know she's not the dolt portrayed by Tina Fey. They see the crowds that show up when she speaks. They worry she'll be on the ticket in 2012, so take any chance they can to write her off.

 

Umm she is pretty much the dolt portrayed by Tina Fey. Didn't you realize that so many of Fey's lines were actual Palin Lines? When they use the actual words and it provides satire that should tell you a lot.

 

Sullivan

[MrRain422]

I think that in 2012 the Republicans will nominate someone who is not that well known on the national stage yet.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

I agree.

[jakobnicholas]

Add the complete tickets and its laughable.

 

 

I totally agree. Biden is as unstable and nutty as they come.

[jakobnicholas]

Many people are afraid that so many people come out to see her and that she could be on a ticket in 2012.

 

 

Different strokes, I guess.

 

 

It scares me that Obama can draw such huge masses....much larger than Palin's.

[EL the Famous]

'overserved'

[Good Old Neon]

I totally agree. Biden is as unstable and nutty as they come.

 

Can you give us some examples?

 

 

It scares me that Obama can draw such huge masses....much larger than Palin's.

 

Why?

[Spawn's dad]

Can you give us some examples

 

 

Steroid hearings. The guy is off the reservation.

[jakobnicholas]

From Camille Paglia:

 

Given that Obama had served on a Chicago board with Ayers and approved funding of a leftist educational project sponsored by Ayers, one might think that the unrepentant Ayers-Dohrn couple might be of some interest to the national media. But no, reporters have been too busy playing mini-badminton with every random spitball about Sarah Palin, who has been subjected to an atrocious and at times delusional level of defamation merely because she has the temerity to hold pro-life views.

 

How dare Palin not embrace abortion as the ultimate civilized ideal of modern culture? How tacky that she speaks in a vivacious regional accent indistinguishable from that of Western Canada! How risible that she graduated from the State University of Idaho and not one of those plush, pampered commodes of received opinion whose graduates, in their rush to believe the worst about her, have demonstrated that, when it comes to sifting evidence, they don't know their asses from their elbows.

 

Liberal Democrats are going to wake up from their sadomasochistic, anti-Palin orgy with a very big hangover. The evil genie released during this sorry episode will not so easily go back into its bottle. A shocking level of irrational emotionalism and at times infantile rage was exposed at the heart of current Democratic ideology -- contradicting Democratic core principles of compassion, tolerance and independent thought. One would have to look back to the Eisenhower 1950s for parallels to this grotesque lock-step parade of bourgeois provincialism, shallow groupthink and blind prejudice.

 

I like Sarah Palin, and I've heartily enjoyed her arrival on the national stage. As a career classroom teacher, I can see how smart she is -- and quite frankly, I think the people who don't see it are the stupid ones, wrapped in the fuzzy mummy-gauze of their own worn-out partisan dogma. So she doesn't speak the King's English -- big whoop! There is a powerful clarity of consciousness in her eyes. She uses language with the jumps, breaks and rippling momentum of a be-bop saxophonist. I stand on what I said (as a staunch pro-choice advocate) in my last two columns -- that Palin as a pro-life wife, mother and ambitious professional represents the next big shift in feminism. Pro-life women will save feminism by expanding it, particularly into the more traditional Third World.

 

As for the Democrats who sneered and howled that Palin was unprepared to be a vice-presidential nominee -- what navel-gazing hypocrisy! What protests were raised in the party or mainstream media when John Edwards, with vastly less political experience than Palin, got John Kerry's nod for veep four years ago? And Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, for whom I lobbied to be Obama's pick and who was on everyone's short list for months, has a record indistinguishable from Palin's. Whatever knowledge deficit Palin has about the federal bureaucracy or international affairs (outside the normal purview of governors) will hopefully be remedied during the next eight years of the Obama presidencies.

 

 

The U.S. Senate as a career option? What a claustrophobic, nitpicking comedown for an energetic Alaskan -- nothing but droning committees and incestuous back-scratching. No, Sarah Palin should stick to her governorship and just hit the rubber-chicken circuit, as Richard Nixon did in his long haul back from political limbo following his California gubernatorial defeat in 1962. Step by step, the mainstream media will come around, wipe its own mud out of its eyes, and see Palin for the populist phenomenon that she is.

[MattZ]

Dude, come on. She thought Africa is a country.

[Moe_Syzlak]

As someone who has hoped and prayed for viable GOP candidate (for my views) for my entire voting life, THAT is what scares me!

[LouieB]

Camille Paglia has finally lost her mind....

 

LouieB

[bjorn_skurj]

Camille Paglia has finally lost her mind....

 

LouieB

Yup. Feminism and being against abortion rights are completely incompatible.