Reply #17: I'm going to argue--maybe it'll last without being a coalition-- [View All]

[vixengrl]

Welcome to DU, by the way.

I think Obama's strength did mostly lie in people feeling they had a reason to vote for him: he was consistent on the message of change and hope, and it took hold. But a vague message alone doesn't seal the deal, I think what we saw at work was an ability to express people's needs in the form of : If this is your problem, I have this solution. People want to feel represented. They want to hear that their issues are heard. Obama is not just a good communicator, but he is also a good listener. I think he used his time well in talking issues, being positive, and letting people know they had the power to effect change. He also let them know voting for him would be a good way to do that.

I am a little puzzled by the notion that John McCain was a "joke opponent". While he did make a joke of his "straight-talk" image and "mavericky-ness", reducing himself in the end to cartoons like Joe the Plumber and Sarah the Hockey Mom, the fact is that Senator McCain was a long-time senator who has the additional cache of having been feted as a war hero. He had long been considered by many (not me, exactly) as being something of a big deal on foreign policy. He had credibility--he simply failed to run on it, having, quite possibly, the stupidest campaign staff to ever live. Many people retained respect for John McCain despite the lousy campaign message, on the basis of past work.

I also must question whether we can discount gains in NC, VA and especially IN, not to mention that one voting district in NE. Having OH and winning PA handily also suggest a certain thing--here it is:

He ran strategically. Winning whole regions is not the way to go because it's not feasible. Watch a Republican try and go after the New England States. That's a Dem trying make GA, TN, AL, and the like, break for them. You only have so much time. You don't "win the South" or "win the West" or "win the southwest." You figure out who you can get. IA, IN, NC, VA, and especially getting OH called in his favor early, which had led to me actually catching a few hours' sleep Tuesday night--it's meaningful. They aren't a specific region--but they are places we'd have been doubtful about getting before. He showed it was possible to bring people around to voting Dem, and made the "L-word" a little safer for people to own up to.

Retaining it all will come down to: performance, performance, performance, though. And also maybe thinking less in terms of Red & Blue states, and more about trying to seize the Big Picture:

Find the things people want to see, and motivate them to be it.

I think the "map" is changed in that it's understood to be a little more "purple" than it was before.