TOP 10 REASONS OBAMA LOST 2008 PREZ ELECTION

WROTE FOLLOWING COLUMN ON SEPT. 17, 2008
TOP TEN REASONS OBAMA LOST THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
According to presidential scholars, Illinois Senator Barack Obama should win the 2008 presidential election by about 10 percentage points. The scholars base these projections on all sorts of data that have proven to be historically accurate – the economic condition of the nation, the mood of people as expressed in polls, the popularity of the incumbent president, etc.
Of course, the scholars made roughly the same projection about Al Gore in 2000, but he made a confounding number of mistakes on the campaign trail. When thinking about Obama’s campaign yesterday, I was flabbergasted by the number of mistakes he has made. This compelled me to put together a list, which I later culled to 10.
Because of the factors cited by presidential scholars, Obama probably still has a roughly 40 percent chance of winning, but I decided to get a jump on the inevitable lists by putting out mine before the election. They are basically listed chronologically.
10. CONTEMPT FOR AMERICANS – The first thing that angered me about his campaign was his decision to block a revote by Michigan Democrats – a vote he probably would have won. This came back to haunt him when Michigan supported Senator John McCain. Later in his barely triumphal primary campaign, he barely set foot in West Virginia and Kentucky while focusing on collecting endorsements. And, of course, he insulted rural voters in a highly publicized comment that I personally feel was unfairly taken out of context, but I’m not a rural American.
9. AVOIDING PUBLIC FORUMS – Turning down McCain’s invitation for weekly Town Hall meetings was inexplicable. The "logic," I suppose, was that Obama was the frontrunner and McCain is really good at these forums. This logic failed to consider that millions of Americans were uncomfortable electing an unknown and talking to voters would have made them more comfortable with him. Besides that, Obama could have used the forums to improve his debating skills. Instead, he didn’t, and McCain took him apart in the three presidential debates.
8. NO CLEAR SOLUTION TO ENERGY CRISIS – I believe the campaign turned when McCain responded to soaring gas prices by changing his position on offshore oil drilling. "Drill now" is a slogan that millions of Americans understood. Since the price issue came up in the primaries, it is inexplicable that Obama was caught off guard and again opposed a rival’s position instead of proposing his own. He ripped McCain immediately, but eventually accepted drilling as part of the solution. He should have been quiet until he formulated an easy-to-explain solution.
7. NOT WELCOMING GOP – John Kerry knew Americans wanted bipartisanship in 2004. Yet, he expected McCain to accept being the only Republican in a Democratic administration rather than assemble a team with many Republicans. Obama also knew Americans want bipartisanship, but he made the same mistake. He should have announced his Cabinet and included conservatives like Chuck Hagel and Richard Lugar and people independents respect. Colin Powell helped George Bush Jr. immensely in 2000 because it was clear he would be Bush’s Secretary of State.
6. VP PICK TOO SAFE – Obama’s change message would have been far more convincing if he picked an outsider. Instead, his finalists were all conventional politicians. Joe Biden was the best by far. I thought ‘it would be idiotic to pick an inexperienced governor like Tim Kaine.’ Little did I know it could be much worse. Obama should have selected a military figure like Wesley Clark, Anthony Zinni, or Jim Webb to counter McCain’s national security argument and draw independents. Or he should have begged Al Gore, whose No. 1 accomplishment is not political.
5. REFUSED TO BUCK HIS PARTY – Millions of indies oppose a traditional Democratic or Republican president. McCain has kissed GOP butt recently, but he has bucked his party on numerous issues. Even The Incompetent One bucked his party on Education and Immigration in 2000. If Obama has challenged Democratic orthodoxy on a major issue, he is keeping it a secret.
(In Chicago, Obama has said nothing about the common practice of powerful Dems taking their names off the ballot months after primaries and choosing their incompetent children as a replacement without a primary; the USA’s largest county is a wreck thanks to this practice.)
4. ATTACKED THE WRONG LIES – Moronic Dems still think the only reason that Kerry lost is the Swift Boat slanders. Talk to independents. They’ll tell you that Kerry never enunciated reasons to vote FOR him. He endorsed a children’s health insurance plan the week AFTER the election. Learning the wrong lesson, Obama attacked numerous lies advanced by a very dirty campaign. He should have focused on the lie that he wants to raise taxes – a lie that half of Americans agreed with. Attacking this lie would have simultaneously advanced his own plan.
3. FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY ORGANIZING – Bush led in pre-election 2004 polls by 1.5 percent. He won by an extra percent thanks to a superior organization. Obama spent millions on offices and staff in about 20 states, including Montana, North Dakota, Georgia, Indiana, and North Carolina while McCain spent close to ZERO. On Election Day, this effort cut McCain’s lead from 3 to 1 percent. Obama was oblivious to the fact that he was losing far more than this 2 percent by spending months deciding that ideas didn’t matter and counting on his organization.
2. THIN RECORD OF ACCOMPLISHMENT – I’m not referring to a lack of experience per se. Rather, I’m talking about the fact that during his two years running for president he had plenty of opportunities to take the lead on major issues in the U.S. Senate, but he didn’t. He could have easily blended his plan for the nation on the campaign trail with a leadership effort in the Senate – an effort that dozens of Democratic senators probably would have been happy to rally behind.
1. A VACUOUS CAMPAIGN – "Drill now." "Cut taxes." "Conservative judges." "The surge worked." I’ll protect you." You already know the above is McCain’s plan. He gained millions of votes by constantly repeating these bromides. Obama’s plan? "I’m for change. McCain is not for change. He is like Bush." Repeating Gore and Kerry’s stupidity, he did not give independents a few easy-to-explain reasons to vote FOR him. It was so simple – "Better health care," "Lower taxes," "Balanced budget," "Get Bin Laden." He never specified change to voters’ satisfaction.