6. George W. Bush- Worst president ever
- abysmal approval rating
- McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time = NOT a maverick
- McCain had no clear policy differences from Bush
5. Economic Crisis Response
- "The fundamentals of the economy are strong."
- suspension of his campaign (didn't really) political gimmick
- despite his intervention, House Republicans first voted against bailout (no leadership by McCain)
- uninterested and uninvolved in White House meeting
- Republican economic theories of deregulation and trickle-down economics mostly to blame
- didn't look presidential
4. Debate Performance
- won't look Obama in the eye
- won't say the same smears as on campaign trail to Obama's face (until 3rd debate and then it just came across as mean)
- "That One"
- erratic
- no clear difference from failed Bush policies
- poor temperament
3. Dishonorable Campaign
- originally promised he wouldn't then blamed Obama for it
- "Change" (stealing Obama's slogans / message)
- "Obama wants kids to learn about sex before learning to read."
- "He'll raise your taxes"
- "Lipstick on a pig"
- "Pals around with a terrorist"
- "Real America"
- "Obama is a socialist"
- "Barack Hussein Obama"
- rally attendees yell hate speech
- had to defend Obama from his own crowd members
- Joe the (fake) Plumber (plant / wingnut)
- lost credibility
2. Sarah Palin as VP Choice
- completely unqualified (Foreign policy, Interviews)
- obviously not a "Country First" decision by McCain
- McCain lost "experience" attack on Obama
- not a true reformer (Wasilla left in debt, bridge to nowhere, ethics violation)
- national joke (SNL - Tina Fey, late night comics, etc.)
- hypocrite ("Hockey Mom" vs. 150K wardrobe, bridge to nowhere, "reformer")
- kept away from media
- no credibility
1. Barack Obama
- terrific candidate
- Democrat after 8 years of Dubya (R)
- great VP pick (Joe Biden)
- true message of change
- more presidential
- bipartisanship
- better policies
- better campaign
- better temperament
- hope
I will never doubt that Obama was the better choice no matter what McCain might have said or did but, after listing all of these negatives against McCain, it really shows just how bad the Republicans have to be to be able to get a Democrat elected president (let alone the first black one ever). I think if McCain had just been more positive, effectively outlined his different vision for the future separated from Bush, and if he had made a responsible and not political choice for his VP, this could have been a much closer election, and he might have even squeaked out a win (even with Bush on his back). I believe this could have been possible only because of people's instinctive reaction to reject change, especially in a time of hardship and while we're in two wars. I also think that it's possible that, no matter how McCain ran his campaign, Obama's message was so strong that he was able to overcome this obstacle.
If you want to succeed in politics then you have a great blueprint with Barack Obama's campaign but Democrats should watch out because they better believe that some Republicans will be smart enough to learn from McCain's mistakes. Hopefully that will mean the end of the nasty and divisive tactics they've been using to scare people for votes. If that is the only outcome of this election for their side, then I'm proud to help them out by listing exactly how John McCain totally blew it. Besides, it feels good to gloat a little after all that us liberals have been through over the past decade. When Barack Obama is sworn in as our 44th president it will be a new day for America and, if they truly want a better way forward for our country, then Republicans should also learn from his successful campaign and his examples through leadership in the years to come. If we can just go back to who has the best ideas and policies no matter what political party they belong to, then I believe we will all be better off.
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