The survivor in chief
What we’ve just endured might be called a strategist’s election, and Mr. Obama’s strategists were victorious.
The president didn’t run on his record or a vision or a plan for the next four years. His campaign consisted of using policy favors to lock up the support of his party’s interest groups—liberals, labor, environmentalists, feminists, minorities—and dehumanizing his opponent, Mitt Romney. It worked.
The Obama campaign exposed the myth of the unenthusiastic Democratic voter. The idea was that millions who backed Obama in 2008 would be too dispirited to show up to vote on Tuesday, and a surge of Republican voters would elect Mr. Romney. I bought this notion and figured the Republican would win. Alas, the unenthusiastics voted, thanks in part to an Obama get-out-the-vote effort as effective as it was in 2008.
The Obama approach to winning re-election was very old-fashioned. It was time-tested. All that mattered was winning. Mr. Obama’s share of the vote declined from 2008, his rhetoric was far less soaring, and he neither did nor said anything to make it easier to tackle the fiscal crisis his presidency must now confront. Partisan and ideological polarization lives on in Washington.
Blowback
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Convince the smartest of the stupid to follow you and the rest will fall in line.
Bishop on November 8, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Best section, IMO:
blatantblue on November 8, 2012 at 11:01 AM
Who would have thought. Get more voters then your opponent to show up and vote!
Somebody tell the GOP about this Old fashioned ,time tested way to win elections, PRONTO!
portlandon on November 8, 2012 at 11:04 AM
“Vote for Obama and get free sh!t” isn’t a strategy.
HotAirian on November 8, 2012 at 11:07 AM
The reason there is a TEA Party is because the GOP Hierarchy has for too long taken them for granted. Conservatives are expected to vote for the name with the R next to it, open their wallets and give to the GOP, then keep their mouths shut as to input or policy.
The TEA Party was formed as to CORRECT problems within the GOP.
portlandon on November 8, 2012 at 11:08 AM
and for a while, it was doing a good job of that.
now? various tea party “leaders” of various tea party orgs are showing how much of jokes they are. its unfortunate
the TP was most effective when it was diffuse
blatantblue on November 8, 2012 at 11:10 AM
I am rapidly entering the land of “who gives a ****?” If the American people want to reward this retard with unfettered power and near dictatorial use of the Executive Order to wishcast our way to paradise who am I to argue? I’m getting ready for the implosion he will cause economically.
Screw the GOP leadership. Screw the ~10 million White Voters who sat this one out. Screw the people who want to allow the democrats to balance the budget on the military’s back giving the civil service a pass.
I hate anyone who will reward the 11 years and rising war’s fighters with walking papers and screwing them out of their pensions while giving the UAW a de facto federal retirement plan.
I’m going Galt and everyone else can go to hell.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 11:11 AM
I have never seen anyone disprove there own case in just a few sentences. Obama’s share of the vote declined from 2008? Yes, yes it did. Along with his total vote. It dropped by a huge amount. more than any incumbent in history. He got 7 million less votes than he did 4 years before. Romney’s share increased but the Republican’s total vote didn’t.
The myth of the unenthusiastic Democratic voter wasn’t exposed, it was confirmed. Obama simply got some new unenthusiastic voters. The problem with Romney, and McCain, is that they invented a new myth, that of the unenthusiastic Republican voter. Both could not match Bush’s total in 2004 despite the fact that there were millions more registered Republicans.
Rocks on November 8, 2012 at 11:11 AM
Instead of listening to and adopting ideas from the TEA Party, they treated them worse than the Obamabots. They didn’t start a dialogue, referred to them as fringe.
So the TEA Party took it to the next level.
When will the GOP learn?
portlandon on November 8, 2012 at 11:14 AM
Barack Obama shouldn’t take the oath next January, David Axelrod should.
This was indeed a strategist’s victory. Divide up the electorate, use identity politics, slice and dice here and there, get one group agitated here, another there, max your base and voila, victory.
This is why, in part, all of this angst over the loss is I think overwrought. Sure, it’s going to be a tough four years but the country is still 50/50 and up for grabs.
But the clock is ticking.
SteveMG on November 8, 2012 at 11:14 AM
The more things change the more the stay the same.
People are stupid.
Mooching at 40,000yr is no incentive to got to work.
Elitists/looters buy votes by taxing producers and keeping moochers in modern day bondage.
Enjoy the slavery, fools.
The US is no longer the land of the independent and free majority.
That so many Asian immigrants, the upward mobile, vote for Obama is the biggest idiocy of them all.
Enjoy your bondage too, fools. You left tyranny and you self-enslaved again. Good luck, fools.
Schadenfreude on November 8, 2012 at 11:18 AM
The angst is overwrought?
President Special needs kid is in charge of the sequester and the war is not winding down. He loses more US troops per day of leadership than George W Bush did, he has a media shield that allowed him to cover up his borderline criminal incompetence on Libya, and he is purposefully Balkanizing the US population and NOBODY cares.
I quit.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 11:19 AM
When they join the “tea party” and Luap Nor morons in the reeducation camps.
If you are a “100% Hard tea Partier” and you purposefully let Obama win you’re an idiot.
He’s gonna destroy the nation.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 11:21 AM
The Republicans forgot to get the voters out.
albill on November 8, 2012 at 11:22 AM
All I am saying is the GOP could have nipped this in the bud early. They could have adopted some of the principles the TEA Party was demanding and keep the Party in order.
Instead they tried to kill the TEA Party quick.
The 2010 election is proof that the TEA party is serious. Yet the 2012 Presidential election campaign acted like the TEA party didn’t exist. Completely ignored them.
The GOP must want to learn the hard way.
portlandon on November 8, 2012 at 11:25 AM
Sorry, I think you missed my point. Or I put it badly.
The angst I think it too much is about this country becoming liberal and giving up on conservatism. It’s still a 50/50 country and this was no mandate for liberal/progressive policies: it was a strategist’s victory and not an ideological one.
In any case, I’m reminded of T.S. Eliot’s line about “lost causes.” That aptly sums up my views about winning and losing.
SteveMG on November 8, 2012 at 11:25 AM
The Tea party must want the borderline communists to get their bobsled course of 2009-2011 back.
They sat out 2012?
I’m siting out 2014.
Have fun Tea partiers b/c if you want all your way or the highway why bother getting in the way of the people you empowered again anyway?
I gave 6500 dollars to Romney just to be undermined by idiots who think what is about to happen is no different than what a romney admin would have been.
I’ve lived on 10 bucks a week sleeping in a cardboard recycling dumpster at my worst I’ll be fine on a long enough timeline.
Soccer mom won’t.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 11:28 AM
When all is said and done…Obama should thank the media. They are the ones who made this election about small things. They are the ones who exploited and extrapolated every tiny insignificant “gaffe” made by a republican while turning a blind eye to the President for not only lying to the American people but running the most dishonest, divisive and demonizing campaign in US history.
And now the media feels even more empowered to be liars and shills for their masters.
They need to be burned to the ground.
HumpBot Salvation on November 8, 2012 at 11:30 AM
.
Excellent point, thanks for repeating it.
LincolntheHun on November 8, 2012 at 11:37 AM
FIFY Fred …
ShainS on November 8, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Yup the GOP refuses to attack the true source of Obama’s invulnerability. No problem I respect Mitt and do feel he had of the people running the best chance at victory, but so long as we have the Tea party weak kneed back biting sit out the vote types as a pillar of our coalition we need to thwart the media b/c the GOP caucus seems now at last to be buying into the media and allowing American idol nation to seep in to their own psyche not doing their homework enough to see where we’re heading.
No problem I will not donate to the GOP anymore I’ll donate to whatever group will destroy personally the media personalities who have decided they are partisan democrat operatives.
No violence, just investigation and putting the media’s skeletons on the type of display that they so enjoy nailing the GOP with and giving the democrats a pass on.
Chris Matthews you better hire a driver b/c buddy you’re gonna get a DUI soon.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 11:40 AM
So, Fred’s message is that we have got to become the Pandah Bear Party, just complete pander to Hispanics to win their votes.
If an Hispanic voter says jump, we should just say “how high.” I get it. He’s right in a way.
But why can’t we take a reverse course. Castigating Hispanics for their love of big government? Ask them why it is they are so beholden to socialism? We should have focus groups. Grab Frank Luntz. Get in their heads, and find out what it is they find so appealing about government control of their lives?
ericdondero on November 8, 2012 at 11:41 AM
.
Davy Crockett said it first, and it didn’t go well for him.
LincolntheHun on November 8, 2012 at 11:42 AM
He’d have been fine if he did not let his ambition put him on a canvassing tour to try to get elected to the Texas provisional government.
I don’t care to lead I care to live that’s why I donated to “leaders”.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 11:50 AM
.
I hear you. I’ve got better things to do than invite over my idiot neighboors and educate them. But if I don’t they’ll keep voting ‘stupid’.
As Regean said, “If not us then who? If not now then when?”
LincolntheHun on November 8, 2012 at 11:56 AM
Valerie Jarrett should. She is the real President, and the most dangerous person in America now.
Right Mover on November 8, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Please reconsider that. They understand language, and it shouldn’t be a pejorative.
rogerb on November 8, 2012 at 12:09 PM
Umm.. I’m confused about this great bench we have. Seriously, it doesn’t exist. However, it isn’t necessary because Marco Rubio will totally be our nominee in 2016 as he has the right skin tone.
Illinidiva on November 8, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Absolutely 100% correct. This vile woman is the one calling the shots from behind the scenes. 0bama doesn’t take a dump without her permission. He is a rudderles, spineless, shallow, brainless pushover.
Axelrod was nothing more than the engineer responsible for 0bama’s campaign (which, admittedly, takes up more time in his schedule than actual governing).
UltimateBob on November 8, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Both right – Obummer is the true puppet/Manchurian president — he is so incompetent as to be almost hilarious, but the behind-the-scenes shot-calling is what’s going to bankrupt us all.
KS Rex on November 8, 2012 at 1:03 PM
I recant.
Sincerely I volunteered with our special needs wing 25 years ago I was wrong.
I cannot politely express the depths of my rage that President Participation trophy engenders.
harlekwin15 on November 8, 2012 at 1:19 PM