This article is a good place to start sharing my take on the election.
I like this article for many reasons and being that it is from a foreign paper it brings a different perspective than this blog's readers may normally read. I find the four points to be a narrow and simple set of reasons to justify the outcome (see Occam's Razor). While I don't find it to be completely accurate I find it to be a good place to start.
The Changing American People: I am not at all surprised to see early commentary of the election outcome to be racial commentary. It is a worthy milestone and barrier broken but I really don't think this was a major factor in the election. The more important consideration of this point is the changing demographics of American society. Simply stated, we are less white than we used to be and that trend is not going to reverse itself. Rove and Bush were right, the Republican party is not going to win future elections leaning on white southerners.
The World is Changing: This is the part of the argument that I have the most trouble accepting. Most Americans don't go to the polls thinking about how America looks in the eyes of foreigners. That is not America and that is quite often where European journalists go wrong. Sure the world is changing but Americans did not vote for Obama because he would be more palatable to Europeans. They voted democrat because their concerns were not met by the Republicans.
The Rising Middle Class: Again I like this point. Rather than point to the tired old have's vs. have not's argument we have a legitimate recognition that America is a case of the rising middle class. America is not like other nations where we constantly pit the wealthy vs. the poor. Here is more proof that Americans went to the polls with the economy on their minds. Middle class America has a great deal more at risk than either the wealthy or the poor. It is more concerned with how the economy affects other aspects of American life, like education and health care. It is the rise in American wealth that promotes transition from Republicans that failed to avert crisis to democrats that proclaim to have the necessary changes.
The Conventional Republican Agenda is not working: I have been telling my other Republican friends that the time for change has come and even if McCain had won it would have been a signal of the end of Republican politics as it was for the past several decades. I heard even last night in TV commentary (I know I watched TV) that Republicans need to get back to standing for something. Well, that isn't going to cut it if standing for something means standing for the same things you stood for thirty years ago. If you accept conservatism as being traditionalistic then conservatism is dying in American politics. Things have been changing in America and if you keep reaching to the past for the answers for the future then you are destined to continue to lose.
Republicans did what they claimed to do. They improved the military, they cut taxes, and crime has been reduced. It is pretty difficult to campaign on doing things that you have already done well. What Republicans did not do is the reason they lost. They were unable to prevent the housing collapse and the financial turmoil that ensued. They had lost the faith of the American people and because of that, failed to have the strength to overcome the financial crisis. The time has come for a coalition that can address the problems of today and the Republicans have proven that clinging to yesterday's answers is not the solution to today's problems. So fellow Republicans - cling to your bans on gay marriage and opposition to abortion at the expense of future elections or get with the changes in our country and find a new platform that can win the hearts and minds of the American people.
So, I went to the Lou to see some football this weekend. I hoped it would lift my spirits after watching Missouri lose, but I was disappointed. Helias lost despite having a lead in the 4th quarter and Blue Springs South squandered too many chances to win the game.
