I picked other because in my opinion the fault lies totally in the repub party so-called big wigs and McC himself....real conservatives can fight the msm...I am hoping to see that day.
Period.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~Rush Limbaugh
You can be conservative till the cows come home but if you can't communicate, you will lose.
Reagan showed it can be done even in the face of all the other factors. Conservatives need to explain why conservatism works. Too often we just assume everyone knows. They don't, especially when far left is promising free money, pies, and unicorns.
I agree totally with your post...I guess that was what I was trying to say in my post above...I just didn't look at that choice in the way you put it so well, but since you did I would change my vote to that also since it seems we are on the same path...
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~Rush Limbaugh
Ronald Reagan was a great communicator, and the media was pretty liberal then, but I don't think even he could have successfully dealt with the media the way it is today.
I've seen a lot of elections...never have I seen the media so invested, so vehemently biased and so blatatly arrogant in their cheerleading for a candidate.
I disagree. Reagan knew how to get pass the media to the people. He also knew when he needed to use the bully pulpit. Reagan would of done more with the new media. He knew how to be antagonistic with class and humor.
was more charismatic than Regan even and they tore her apart in a Tonya Harding fashion.
McCain had lots of good moments - like suspending his campaign - everyone saw it as a good move. Libs were immediately crying on the blogs and admitting it was a good move and asking what could Obama do. Then the media droned on with Obama's message that McCain was erratic, that it was a stunt, that he was hurting not helping etc... and public opinion changed.
If people don't wake up and figure out how to get a conservative media network it's over unless they decide to be more fair next time. We can overcome their standard bias - but not this outright advocacy
That's why I asked Conservative Voice how he did it.
The fact is, he didn't. He just talked past them, to the American people. But they reported what he said even though they didn't like it; they did their job!!
Now Reagan wouldn't be able to get a thought printed or a speech broadcast. This media even ignored press conferences that President Bush held!
there is no candidate that could. The media bias is so over the top now that it's almost pointless to have this site. I wish Newsbusters would morph into something like the Huff Po for conservatives with more news and original columns. I don't even want to know what those hacks in the media are saying anymore.
There is always some reporter who will report. Reagan would of won, simply by talking to those who would do their job. The reporters for Reagan were hostile...they wanted to see him trip up, but he used every opportunity to talk to the American People.
McCain couldn't take the message to the people because he was too busy trying to be friends with the media.
Suspending his campaign for the failout bill was madness. Americans are STILL against the bailout bill. In exit polls ~65% of voters were AGAINST the bailout. If a CONSERVATIVE candidate stood against Bush and his marxist Bailout, he would've won with Reagan numbers EASILY. The problem was McCain isn't a conservative, he's a populist like George Bush. So instead of electing the socialist lite, they picked the man giving the consistent message.
McCain going got some of the Republican influence in the bill like eliminating the money to ACORN and more checks & balances among other things.
IF McCain had not been so demonized, there probably would have been more Republican principals in it. McCain couldn't stop the bailout. The Dems control congress.
The second one that was voted for and approved was even more bloated and worse than the first. Any Politician that supported that bill should be kicked out of the house and senate imemdiately. If the republicans stood their ground the second time and didn't vote for the bailout the stock market would've NEVER crashed as low as it did.
The idiot Paulson caused the panic, that got Barrack elected. The chicken littles in Congress passed the WORST bill in the history of any congress, and Bush signed it.
Tell me how when ~65% of Americans OPPOSED the Bailout bill that it wouldn't have been a WINNING strategy to stick to conservative principals and ideas. it worked overwhelmingly for Reagan THREE TIMES (he helped get Bush Sr, elected)
He didn't become "moderate" or bend his ideals to meet the marxists in the middle. he stuck to his guns and spoke the truth of conservative ideals.
The point is that McCain should have spoken out against, and voted against the bailout.
This would have pitted him squarely against both Barack Obama and the President Bush.
Where would that have taken the argument that a vote for McCain is a vote for four more years of Bush policy?
Pencil me in for what mb said.They pounded Bush and the opposition to anything liberal for 8 yrs.Then they threw Obama on their shoulders in a squeeling lovefest and ran him across the finish line.Shameless assholes.
You can be conservative till the cows come home but if you can't communicate, you will lose - Yes I agree but If you dont have a platform from which to communicate then it doesnt matter. McCain and the GOp did not and do not have strong traditional conservative values. Even if they tried to tell people what they were they may not have had a big enough platform to do so. I chose the media because of the bias.
The media started way back in early '08 trying to convince the country we were in (or headed for) a recession. They talked fear of bad economy long enough that it finally took hold. They knew that if the economy was strong, "O" wouldn't have a chance.....
When thigns did start crumbling, the media acted like pyromaniacs at a bonfire......
Media bias is a factor, as is the indoctrination factor in our school system, but the biggest thing was the RINO factor.
I just heard that Obama got the independent and moderate vote by 60 to 40% - This is why we thought the polls were wrong; we were told McCain would draw more independents.
So much for RINOs - but the GOP won't learn - they're already out there playing nice and blaming the knuckle-dragging right.
Other: The microscopic attention span of the masses seems to crave something new when the novelty of the previous has worn off (about 5 minutes a room temperature!)
I really think people are just too lazy to think it through. It looks pretty and shiny, "I want it!" and that's about all the thinking they put into it.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." - Paul (Rom. 13:1)
They basically sold their soul for less than $10 a week worth of a stimulus check, which they'll pay back in excess in raising taxes and higher costs for goods and services and for free health care that by far would make suicide seem like an alternative to 3 day waits in ERs with people's limbs hanging off.
By superior infrastructure, I'm assuming you mean a combination of the media, massive amounts of funding, ACORN, and a combination of other resources they exploited, including the dumbing down of the masses and a message built, not on unity, but on division and blaming Bush for all our problems. That could all probably go on Other too though...
President-Elect Obama set all kinds of records, but the most glaring record of all is that he is the most under-investigated Presidential candidate in history.
The media failed. They refused to find out who Obama is, and now the entire nation will find out together since no one knows him... not the ones who voted for him, and not the rest of us.
Boy, 63,042,806 Americans are about to be surprised.
I have to admit that media bias had alot to due with the fact that Obama won. The MSM did everything they could to hide the real Obama and his background.
When will we realize that shaming the MSM will not work. I think that Congress needs to pass some sort of legislation that will force the media to be fair during elections.
We can start with letting the FCC refuse to renew the broadcast license of Networks that are basically providing the DNC talking points every night like NBC.
We now have the tools to prove who is biased why not use them?
I wish there was a way to do that, but we are facing two huge problems with that right now.
First would be the Fairness Doctrine debate. We don't want the democrats controlling media that favors conservatives, so we shouldn't propose the same idea.
Second, that is something that maybe could have passed a few years ago before the democrats took both houses, and now the presidency, but they aren't going to even consider allowing their main avenue of repetitive message mind control go to waste.
we lost because both candidates were running to the left. Everyone was right...people don't usually vote for vp...except in this election...Sarah was the only conservative running....I knew a RINO like McCain would probably lose...he says he was a footsoldier in the Reagan revolution...but I guess he got lost...Republicans will keep losing if they think they have to run to the left.
I think its failure to communicate. McCains campaign seemed schizophrenic, jumping from different issues like a gnat. There was no clear image of a McCain or Republican America as there was when Reagan painted his ideal of America.
Media bias + Republican failure to communicate = FAILURE. (there's another word I'd like to use, but I'm being polite today)
Also, the economy was a big factor, but it was hyped to an extreme by the media and by the candidates. The Republicans did not defend themselves at all and the truth was not told. Some of that due to the highly partial media, but a lot of it is due to the Republicans themselves.
I voted "superior infrastructure", by which I mean, the left has developed an extremely large and highly effective propaganda machine, the likes of which I have never seen. MoveOn, DailyKos and other liberal blogs are widely read and widely quoted. I can't get into any debate on any website anywhere without someone parroting Daily Kos propaganda back at me. I call it "propaganda" because it is very frequently untrue or at least unsubstantiated. "A lie can go around the world before the truth can get its boots on." I counter these Kos stories regularly, using hard factual data to disprove them but the damage is already done. People heard the lie and believe the lie and even if you convince them it's wrong, the emotional connection created by the lie is still there.
This is how McCain lost. It's not entirely accurate to say that "Obama won" because this race was never about Obama. It was about the amazing propaganda machine that the liberals have been building for the past 4+ years. You could have put anyone in Obama's shoes and he would have won the election. Obama as an indiviual only had to avoid making any fatal mistakes and the machine would do the rest of the work for him.
"Liberal media bias" is not a cause, but rather, an effect. Liberals in the media were the first to fall to the siren's call of this new machine.
The only difference I would have is that we have yet to see if Obama is like Hitler or not. I'm hoping that this is one time the media is right and that Obama will rule moderately.
But if the Right stopped acting like leftist democrats they would have set up a clearer difference between the two candidates... there were moments in the campaign I couldn't tell Obama's policies from McCain's.
There was no single biggest factor. It was a convergence of all the above and more at one time. Could you remove just one of the listed choices and guarantee a McCain victory? I couldn't.
Left wing media bias comes close, maybe and its a big MAYBE, if the media had massive Right wing bias, everything else could have happened and McCain could have won. Race would be the other big maybe, but it doesn't matter because they are both fantasy what ifs.
The reality is, all the above did happen and that led to an historic defeat.
Look on the bright side, imagine if we would have run a perfect campaign and the economy wouldn't have tanked and then we still LOST, what today would be like. ;-)
As it is, we have hope(sarc off) that things can be different in 2 and 4 years because of all the mistakes that were made this time around. So hold your heads high fellow NewsBusters and get the f@ck off the pity wagon. Or as someone famous once said;
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
Lincoln's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.
If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.
Too many people wanting to be cared for. I fear that America has lost it's connection to God, and her independent spirit that made this country great in the past.
Even though I voted that the economy was the biggest factor, I had only to go on the question and the choices you offered. In view of the news cycle, that would be the choice that would have applied on election day.
A few months ago the Iraq war was the biggest issue. It was even a big issue when Hillary was still in the race.
With the shift going toward the rescue package and all that drama, I feel THAT is what changed the election. For some reason the American people feel a big spender is going to be the solution to all their financial problems.
-so many young people as new voters
-the media portraying the economy much worse that it actually is
-these same young people who could care less where this money comes from (I can make that statement as the parent of 4 twenty-somethings), just as long as they get theirs
Someday these same young people will wake up with a huge tax burden, like we all did years after a mere four years of Jimmy Carter.
Damdest thing I found 4 dollars in my shoe this morning .. it just magically showed up in the shoe curious are there any rich folks out there missing 4 dollars? Damn this new age is great ....+ I am getting unicorn to boot
While American did the voting.....if the MSM did their job in exposing Obama in the Primaries, Hillary would probably be president elect today. Having said that poor McCain didn't have a chance.
Some voted for Obama because he was Black, Some because he was a democrat, and many because he was Not Bush.
I have yet to meet One person who voted for him based on an Issue or Character.
I agree completely. As a college student, I have many liberal friends. I forgive them for their beliefs because most of them aren't mature enough to think for themselves.
I often like to ask them why they choose to support Obama, without any pressure for debate. Im just curious, I like to know other peoples' thought processes when it comes to things like this.
#1 response - John McCain ran a mean spirited campaign while Obama was an angel. (their thoughts, my wording)
#2 respone - John McCain is surely going to die and that means that crazy Sarah Palin would be president.
#3 response - Healthcare, for some reason they believe Obama is going to make healthcare practically free for them
It was there when Bush won and has been there all along, so it isnt the real issue. The republicans forgot what Regan taught them and could no longer convince the voters that there was any meaningful difference between them and the Dems. Look at the congressional polls, the voters know DC needs changing but after many years of the Republicans growing the goverment hand in hand with the Democrats, McCain couldnt sell the message that his party would actually change a damn thing. at least with the Dimocrats in charge you wont be surprised when they tax and spend!
The real reason that the Dems won was not the liberal media, but they did help. Tell me; do YOU believe Rather, Olberman, Matthews, Williams, Dowd, etc.? Nor do the rest of the US citizens. You cannot have a conservative citizenry which believes this group of twisters.
"What experience and history teach is
this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history,
or acted on principles deduced from it."
A poll conducted on a website dedicated to exposing left-wing bias in the media and read by people whose overwhelming opinion is that there is left-wing bias in the media finds . . . . VOILA, the biggest factor in the elections this year is (drum roll) . . . . . LEFT-WING MEDIA BIAS.
How about this. One candidate connected and one didn't. One candidate conducted a superior campaign and one didn't. One candidate took advantage of campaign finance reform and money raising loopholes and the other didn't (no small irony here). One candidate dissed all Republicans and everything they stand for and the other candidate dissed only some Republicans and much of what they stand for.
One candidate had the news media cover up all his past associations. One candidate lied through his teeth. One candidate violated campaign finance laws by allowing foreigners to contribute to his campaign.
I could go on and on but if you cannot see that it took a compliant MSM to help him do all of this with out any investigative news media articles about him or his past then you are naive.
Exactly what do you know about Obama other than the talking points BTW.
Basically McCain completely messing up his response to the financial melt down. Before that and right after both conventions it was tie. At that time if any swing state switched from Barry to Mac except for NH Mac would have won. After his response it wasn't really close anymore.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Stupidity
November 5, 2008 - 13:43 ET by 10ksnookerIt's easier to make moron voters from ignorant people than it is to make an informed educated voter.
Why work, when the pies are free.
Indeed.
November 6, 2008 - 01:47 ET by farstar99Time to poison some pies.
We have until January to scorch the earth.
Where there's no meat, parasites can't feed.
Our media selected this
November 5, 2008 - 13:47 ET by Clear thinkerOur media selected this president!
Sad Day For America
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
I picked other because in
November 5, 2008 - 13:47 ET by bigtimerI picked other because in my opinion the fault lies totally in the repub party so-called big wigs and McC himself....real conservatives can fight the msm...I am hoping to see that day.
Period.
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
News Media
November 5, 2008 - 13:48 ET by JDWWhen have we been told who Obama is or what he stands for?
JDW
DAILY WAVE
A new start with a new team
Conservatism
November 5, 2008 - 13:53 ET by ScottyDogWhat we had was a failure to communicate a conservative message and a conservative candidate .
The fact is that John McCain was not and will never be a conservative
When will the RNC learn that America wants a true Conservative over a RHINO?
Is this Mexico or the USA
I voted Other.
November 5, 2008 - 13:49 ET by R D HelmFifty years of government "education" have finally come home to roost.
Yesterday, a majority of Americans voted to surrender their freedom for security.
In essence, this country (as we know and love it) has been voted out of existence by the stupid and the illiterate among us.
-Dave
Resist the Obamatons.
Hey RD... I owe you a
November 5, 2008 - 13:57 ET by Clear thinkerHey RD...
I owe you a dollar. PM me with an addy and I will send asap!
Sad Day For America
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
I voted "communicate"
November 5, 2008 - 13:50 ET by Matthew SheffieldYou can be conservative till the cows come home but if you can't communicate, you will lose.
Reagan showed it can be done even in the face of all the other factors. Conservatives need to explain why conservatism works. Too often we just assume everyone knows. They don't, especially when far left is promising free money, pies, and unicorns.
Matthew...
November 5, 2008 - 13:53 ET by LionKingFirst, I think you are correct. GOP must accept responsibility for failing.
Secondly, in the future on polls, can we have the option to vote "Present"? -- thanks.
News Media
November 5, 2008 - 13:54 ET by JDWHow has the news media changed since the 80's?
JDW
DAILY WAVE
GOP: A new start with a new team
Matthew... I agree
November 5, 2008 - 13:54 ET by bigtimerMatthew...
I agree totally with your post...I guess that was what I was trying to say in my post above...I just didn't look at that choice in the way you put it so well, but since you did I would change my vote to that also since it seems we are on the same path...
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Matthew, I disagree about
November 5, 2008 - 13:57 ET by motherbeltMatthew, I disagree about Reagan.
Ronald Reagan was a great communicator, and the media was pretty liberal then, but I don't think even he could have successfully dealt with the media the way it is today.
I've seen a lot of elections...never have I seen the media so invested, so vehemently biased and so blatatly arrogant in their cheerleading for a candidate.
I disagree. Reagan knew
November 5, 2008 - 14:02 ET by Conservative VoiceI disagree. Reagan knew how to get pass the media to the people. He also knew when he needed to use the bully pulpit. Reagan would of done more with the new media. He knew how to be antagonistic with class and humor.
How did Reagan get past the
November 5, 2008 - 15:25 ET by motherbeltHow did Reagan get past the media?
two reasons:
November 5, 2008 - 17:05 ET by mbuel1) Reagan was a MUCH better candidate than McCain. Reagan was a true conservative and spoke in literal truths to reality and Americanism.
2) The Media wasn't NEARLY as biased then as it is today.
I'm with you MB - no one could have overcome this - Palin
November 5, 2008 - 17:23 ET by Dee Bunkwas more charismatic than Regan even and they tore her apart in a Tonya Harding fashion.
McCain had lots of good moments - like suspending his campaign - everyone saw it as a good move. Libs were immediately crying on the blogs and admitting it was a good move and asking what could Obama do. Then the media droned on with Obama's message that McCain was erratic, that it was a stunt, that he was hurting not helping etc... and public opinion changed.
If people don't wake up and figure out how to get a conservative media network it's over unless they decide to be more fair next time. We can overcome their standard bias - but not this outright advocacy
That's why I asked
November 5, 2008 - 20:13 ET by motherbeltThat's why I asked Conservative Voice how he did it.
The fact is, he didn't. He just talked past them, to the American people. But they reported what he said even though they didn't like it; they did their job!!
Now Reagan wouldn't be able to get a thought printed or a speech broadcast. This media even ignored press conferences that President Bush held!
I agree MB - Reagan would not have won this election
November 5, 2008 - 22:18 ET by Dee Bunkthere is no candidate that could. The media bias is so over the top now that it's almost pointless to have this site. I wish Newsbusters would morph into something like the Huff Po for conservatives with more news and original columns. I don't even want to know what those hacks in the media are saying anymore.
There is always some
November 6, 2008 - 19:36 ET by Conservative VoiceThere is always some reporter who will report. Reagan would of won, simply by talking to those who would do their job. The reporters for Reagan were hostile...they wanted to see him trip up, but he used every opportunity to talk to the American People.
McCain couldn't take the message to the people because he was too busy trying to be friends with the media.
wrong
November 6, 2008 - 09:29 ET by mbuelSuspending his campaign for the failout bill was madness. Americans are STILL against the bailout bill. In exit polls ~65% of voters were AGAINST the bailout. If a CONSERVATIVE candidate stood against Bush and his marxist Bailout, he would've won with Reagan numbers EASILY. The problem was McCain isn't a conservative, he's a populist like George Bush. So instead of electing the socialist lite, they picked the man giving the consistent message.
I disagree mbuel
November 6, 2008 - 14:56 ET by Dee BunkMcCain going got some of the Republican influence in the bill like eliminating the money to ACORN and more checks & balances among other things.
IF McCain had not been so demonized, there probably would have been more Republican principals in it. McCain couldn't stop the bailout. The Dems control congress.
were you seeing the same bailout?
November 6, 2008 - 17:21 ET by mbuelThe second one that was voted for and approved was even more bloated and worse than the first. Any Politician that supported that bill should be kicked out of the house and senate imemdiately. If the republicans stood their ground the second time and didn't vote for the bailout the stock market would've NEVER crashed as low as it did.
The idiot Paulson caused the panic, that got Barrack elected. The chicken littles in Congress passed the WORST bill in the history of any congress, and Bush signed it.
Tell me how when ~65% of Americans OPPOSED the Bailout bill that it wouldn't have been a WINNING strategy to stick to conservative principals and ideas. it worked overwhelmingly for Reagan THREE TIMES (he helped get Bush Sr, elected)
He didn't become "moderate" or bend his ideals to meet the marxists in the middle. he stuck to his guns and spoke the truth of conservative ideals.
»→ Dee
November 6, 2008 - 17:29 ET by Cool ArrowThe point is that McCain should have spoken out against, and voted against the bailout.
This would have pitted him squarely against both Barack Obama and the President Bush.
Where would that have taken the argument that a vote for McCain is a vote for four more years of Bush policy?
Pencil me in for what mb
November 5, 2008 - 17:12 ET by the strugglerPencil me in for what mb said.They pounded Bush and the opposition to anything liberal for 8 yrs.Then they threw Obama on their shoulders in a squeeling lovefest and ran him across the finish line.Shameless assholes.
motherbelt
November 5, 2008 - 18:48 ET by JDWI agree, who knows even today what Obama's plans are as president? The news media told no one.
How many voters were aware of Obama's past? The news media told no one.
If Obama lowers all of the taxes for those under $250k, what happens after the Bush plan expires? The news media told no one. ...
JDW
DAILY WAVE
I agree. We need to
November 5, 2008 - 14:05 ET by Ruths husband BenI agree. We need to get some of them there unicorns. I'll bet they're right tasty.
You can be conservative
November 5, 2008 - 16:29 ET by Dan The Man 2You can be conservative till the cows come home but if you can't communicate, you will lose - Yes I agree but If you dont have a platform from which to communicate then it doesnt matter. McCain and the GOp did not and do not have strong traditional conservative values. Even if they tried to tell people what they were they may not have had a big enough platform to do so. I chose the media because of the bias.
Let those who have ears hear.
Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.
Thanks Matthew, for
November 5, 2008 - 20:55 ET by SchnikeysThanks Matthew, for highlighting something which, to my recollection, I've made clear a number of times before.
If you can't argue something successfully and detail them as much as possible, then you don't even deserve the office you seek.
------------------------------------------------------------
"My morality is your morality."
Media made financial mess
November 5, 2008 - 13:51 ET by SouthJersey1953The media started way back in early '08 trying to convince the country we were in (or headed for) a recession. They talked fear of bad economy long enough that it finally took hold. They knew that if the economy was strong, "O" wouldn't have a chance.....
When thigns did start crumbling, the media acted like pyromaniacs at a bonfire......
Luke 23:34
PALIN/Jindal '12
And Obama has already
November 5, 2008 - 14:11 ET by motherbeltAnd Obama has already called it the worst financial crisis in 100 years!
This is so that when it begins to improve, he can take credit, not merely for a good job, but for a bona fide miracle!!
Media bias is a factor, as
November 5, 2008 - 13:52 ET by mattmMedia bias is a factor, as is the indoctrination factor in our school system, but the biggest thing was the RINO factor.
I just heard that Obama got the independent and moderate vote by 60 to 40% - This is why we thought the polls were wrong; we were told McCain would draw more independents.
So much for RINOs - but the GOP won't learn - they're already out there playing nice and blaming the knuckle-dragging right.
The fix was in from the media
November 5, 2008 - 13:54 ET by dboThe combination of an outrageous media and Obama's money was deadly. McCain did well to stay within 5 points.
Other: The microscopic
November 5, 2008 - 13:57 ET by HelenSOther: The microscopic attention span of the masses seems to crave something new when the novelty of the previous has worn off (about 5 minutes a room temperature!)
I really think people are just too lazy to think it through. It looks pretty and shiny, "I want it!" and that's about all the thinking they put into it.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." - Paul (Rom. 13:1)
They basically sold their
November 5, 2008 - 14:01 ET by TuariThey basically sold their soul for less than $10 a week worth of a stimulus check, which they'll pay back in excess in raising taxes and higher costs for goods and services and for free health care that by far would make suicide seem like an alternative to 3 day waits in ERs with people's limbs hanging off.
Superior Infrastructure
November 5, 2008 - 13:58 ET by TuariBy superior infrastructure, I'm assuming you mean a combination of the media, massive amounts of funding, ACORN, and a combination of other resources they exploited, including the dumbing down of the masses and a message built, not on unity, but on division and blaming Bush for all our problems. That could all probably go on Other too though...
Media Lost Public Trust
November 5, 2008 - 14:02 ET by West Coast MinorityPresident-Elect Obama set all kinds of records, but the most glaring record of all is that he is the most under-investigated Presidential candidate in history.
The media failed. They refused to find out who Obama is, and now the entire nation will find out together since no one knows him... not the ones who voted for him, and not the rest of us.
Boy, 63,042,806 Americans are about to be surprised.
Media Bias
November 5, 2008 - 14:09 ET by ScottyDogI have to admit that media bias had alot to due with the fact that Obama won. The MSM did everything they could to hide the real Obama and his background.
When will we realize that shaming the MSM will not work. I think that Congress needs to pass some sort of legislation that will force the media to be fair during elections.
We can start with letting the FCC refuse to renew the broadcast license of Networks that are basically providing the DNC talking points every night like NBC.
We now have the tools to prove who is biased why not use them?
Is this Mexico or the USA
I wish there was a way to do
November 5, 2008 - 18:28 ET by ksennishI wish there was a way to do that, but we are facing two huge problems with that right now.
First would be the Fairness Doctrine debate. We don't want the democrats controlling media that favors conservatives, so we shouldn't propose the same idea.
Second, that is something that maybe could have passed a few years ago before the democrats took both houses, and now the presidency, but they aren't going to even consider allowing their main avenue of repetitive message mind control go to waste.
I voted "other"
November 5, 2008 - 14:03 ET by MrDebaterwe lost because both candidates were running to the left. Everyone was right...people don't usually vote for vp...except in this election...Sarah was the only conservative running....I knew a RINO like McCain would probably lose...he says he was a footsoldier in the Reagan revolution...but I guess he got lost...Republicans will keep losing if they think they have to run to the left.
I think its failure to
November 5, 2008 - 14:19 ET by nwahsI think its failure to communicate. McCains campaign seemed schizophrenic, jumping from different issues like a gnat. There was no clear image of a McCain or Republican America as there was when Reagan painted his ideal of America.
Other: Media bias +
November 5, 2008 - 14:20 ET by soulpileOther:
Media bias + Republican failure to communicate = FAILURE. (there's another word I'd like to use, but I'm being polite today)
Also, the economy was a big factor, but it was hyped to an extreme by the media and by the candidates. The Republicans did not defend themselves at all and the truth was not told. Some of that due to the highly partial media, but a lot of it is due to the Republicans themselves.
Superior infrastructure
November 5, 2008 - 14:32 ET by TheCynicI voted "superior infrastructure", by which I mean, the left has developed an extremely large and highly effective propaganda machine, the likes of which I have never seen. MoveOn, DailyKos and other liberal blogs are widely read and widely quoted. I can't get into any debate on any website anywhere without someone parroting Daily Kos propaganda back at me. I call it "propaganda" because it is very frequently untrue or at least unsubstantiated. "A lie can go around the world before the truth can get its boots on." I counter these Kos stories regularly, using hard factual data to disprove them but the damage is already done. People heard the lie and believe the lie and even if you convince them it's wrong, the emotional connection created by the lie is still there.
This is how McCain lost. It's not entirely accurate to say that "Obama won" because this race was never about Obama. It was about the amazing propaganda machine that the liberals have been building for the past 4+ years. You could have put anyone in Obama's shoes and he would have won the election. Obama as an indiviual only had to avoid making any fatal mistakes and the machine would do the rest of the work for him.
"Liberal media bias" is not a cause, but rather, an effect. Liberals in the media were the first to fall to the siren's call of this new machine.
One word : George W. Bush
November 5, 2008 - 14:40 ET by TjexciteBush has so hurt the GOP and right that the dems could have run "Hitler" and still won. note: Obama is no hitler, yet
Long live George W. Bush
Long live John McCain
GOP 2010
Sarah Palin 2012
you are correct
November 5, 2008 - 14:45 ET by mbuelThe only difference I would have is that we have yet to see if Obama is like Hitler or not. I'm hoping that this is one time the media is right and that Obama will rule moderately.
all of those were factors
November 5, 2008 - 14:42 ET by mbuelBut if the Right stopped acting like leftist democrats they would have set up a clearer difference between the two candidates... there were moments in the campaign I couldn't tell Obama's policies from McCain's.
"Other" should be "all the above"
November 5, 2008 - 14:46 ET by HillbillyKingThere was no single biggest factor. It was a convergence of all the above and more at one time. Could you remove just one of the listed choices and guarantee a McCain victory? I couldn't.
Left wing media bias comes close, maybe and its a big MAYBE, if the media had massive Right wing bias, everything else could have happened and McCain could have won. Race would be the other big maybe, but it doesn't matter because they are both fantasy what ifs.
The reality is, all the above did happen and that led to an historic defeat.
Look on the bright side, imagine if we would have run a perfect campaign and the economy wouldn't have tanked and then we still LOST, what today would be like. ;-)
As it is, we have hope(sarc off) that things can be different in 2 and 4 years because of all the mistakes that were made this time around. So hold your heads high fellow NewsBusters and get the f@ck off the pity wagon. Or as someone famous once said;
"The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
Lincoln's Second Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862.
If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.
Don Marquis 1878-1937
Lemmings...too many
November 5, 2008 - 14:49 ET by bradbenj5952Lemmings...too many lemmings.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:31
spot on
November 5, 2008 - 14:51 ET by mbuelToo many people wanting to be cared for. I fear that America has lost it's connection to God, and her independent spirit that made this country great in the past.
Biggest Factor
November 5, 2008 - 14:57 ET by jcheneyEven though I voted that the economy was the biggest factor, I had only to go on the question and the choices you offered. In view of the news cycle, that would be the choice that would have applied on election day.
A few months ago the Iraq war was the biggest issue. It was even a big issue when Hillary was still in the race.
With the shift going toward the rescue package and all that drama, I feel THAT is what changed the election. For some reason the American people feel a big spender is going to be the solution to all their financial problems.
-so many young people as new voters
-the media portraying the economy much worse that it actually is
-these same young people who could care less where this money comes from (I can make that statement as the parent of 4 twenty-somethings), just as long as they get theirs
Someday these same young people will wake up with a huge tax burden, like we all did years after a mere four years of Jimmy Carter.
4 bucks in my shoe
November 5, 2008 - 14:58 ET by dark_dsDamdest thing I found 4 dollars in my shoe this morning .. it just magically showed up in the shoe curious are there any rich folks out there missing 4 dollars? Damn this new age is great ....+ I am getting unicorn to boot
We are the World la la la BOOM
Media Bias...
November 5, 2008 - 16:07 ET by BiasedGirlWhile American did the voting.....if the MSM did their job in exposing Obama in the Primaries, Hillary would probably be president elect today. Having said that poor McCain didn't have a chance.
Some voted for Obama because he was Black, Some because he was a democrat, and many because he was Not Bush.
I have yet to meet One person who voted for him based on an Issue or Character.
http://www.withbias.net
I agree completely. As a
November 5, 2008 - 18:36 ET by ksennishI agree completely. As a college student, I have many liberal friends. I forgive them for their beliefs because most of them aren't mature enough to think for themselves.
I often like to ask them why they choose to support Obama, without any pressure for debate. Im just curious, I like to know other peoples' thought processes when it comes to things like this.
#1 response - John McCain ran a mean spirited campaign while Obama was an angel. (their thoughts, my wording)
#2 respone - John McCain is surely going to die and that means that crazy Sarah Palin would be president.
#3 response - Healthcare, for some reason they believe Obama is going to make healthcare practically free for them
I kid you not, this is their thought process.
I voted Other because I
November 5, 2008 - 16:13 ET by Scuba DudeI voted Other because I want to say "ALL OF THE ABOVE".
I voted other
November 5, 2008 - 16:22 ET by candanceFace it folks, most Americans are uneducated and looking for Santa Claus. We are a center-left nation with a few religious remnants in the background.
I'm a typical white person.
I couldn't decide
November 5, 2008 - 16:23 ET by Mica the MagnificentI voted 'present.'
Big Smile!
November 5, 2008 - 16:50 ET by Hermano----- -----
O O
^
\ /
\ /
\_______/
Big Smile! Thanks!
Always look on the bright side of life...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1loyjm4SOa0
Republicans deserved to lose.
November 5, 2008 - 16:49 ET byJust check out www.TheNextRight.com, I thought the points were spot on.
Republicans deserved to lose
blue
Media bias is a given
November 5, 2008 - 18:18 ET by pgrossjrIt was there when Bush won and has been there all along, so it isnt the real issue. The republicans forgot what Regan taught them and could no longer convince the voters that there was any meaningful difference between them and the Dems. Look at the congressional polls, the voters know DC needs changing but after many years of the Republicans growing the goverment hand in hand with the Democrats, McCain couldnt sell the message that his party would actually change a damn thing. at least with the Dimocrats in charge you wont be surprised when they tax and spend!
Liberal media only helped
November 5, 2008 - 19:21 ET by TheHistorianThe real reason that the Dems won was not the liberal media, but they did help. Tell me; do YOU believe Rather, Olberman, Matthews, Williams, Dowd, etc.? Nor do the rest of the US citizens. You cannot have a conservative citizenry which believes this group of twisters.
"What experience and history teach is
this - that people and governments never have learned anything from history,
or acted on principles deduced from it."
G. W. F. Hegel
Congratulations
November 5, 2008 - 19:48 ET by Bob McCongratulations to MSNBC, CNN, ABC/CBS/NBC, NY Times, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone and the rest of the MSM on a well fought campaign.
Oh, and Barry too.
BobM... LMAO! You said
November 5, 2008 - 21:12 ET by bigtimerBobM...
LMAO!
You said it all!
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
*mistake
November 5, 2008 - 20:52 ET by Schnikeys*mistake post*
------------------------------------------------------------
"My morality is your morality."
What a Shock!
November 6, 2008 - 03:41 ET by CaringwhiteguyA poll conducted on a website dedicated to exposing left-wing bias in the media and read by people whose overwhelming opinion is that there is left-wing bias in the media finds . . . . VOILA, the biggest factor in the elections this year is (drum roll) . . . . . LEFT-WING MEDIA BIAS.
How about this. One candidate connected and one didn't. One candidate conducted a superior campaign and one didn't. One candidate took advantage of campaign finance reform and money raising loopholes and the other didn't (no small irony here). One candidate dissed all Republicans and everything they stand for and the other candidate dissed only some Republicans and much of what they stand for.
Caringwhiteguy
November 6, 2008 - 11:18 ET by ScottyDogHow about this:
One candidate had the news media cover up all his past associations. One candidate lied through his teeth. One candidate violated campaign finance laws by allowing foreigners to contribute to his campaign.
I could go on and on but if you cannot see that it took a compliant MSM to help him do all of this with out any investigative news media articles about him or his past then you are naive.
Exactly what do you know about Obama other than the talking points BTW.
Is this Mexico or the USA
Biggest Factor in Elections
November 6, 2008 - 08:32 ET by PeacolaI cheched "other" as I believe it was all of the above in a perfect storm.
Basically McCain completely
November 8, 2008 - 08:39 ET by Dave DBasically McCain completely messing up his response to the financial melt down. Before that and right after both conventions it was tie. At that time if any swing state switched from Barry to Mac except for NH Mac would have won. After his response it wasn't really close anymore.