Election Winners and Losers

No one will ever be able to say the 2008 elections were dull or lacking in historical significance. Clearly the election of Barack Obama as our 44th president is the headline. While Obama’s margin of victory was substantial, it wasn’t quite the landslide most had predicted. It makes you wonder how close it might have been if the economy and the stock market hadn’t imploded in mid-September. While I certainly understand the racial significance of Obama’s win, I also think the majority of people voting for him simply thought he was the most qualified. McCain’s comment about the economic fundamentals being “sound” made him look old, tired and out of touch. He was done after that.
An obvious loser was Hillary Clinton. She knows the nomination was hers and her refusal to admit she was wrong on the Iraq war vote cost her the support of many early primary voters. But a combination of Hillary’s flawed strategy and Bill Clinton’s gaffes brought her back to the pack. At that point, a majority of democrats concluded Obama was the better candidate and gave them a very credible place to go. No amount of “glass ceiling” hyperbole can obscure the fact that Hillary blew it. What has to hurt is Hillary knows she would have beaten the hapless McCain.
Then there’s the House and Senate. Democrats won fairly big but it doesn’t appear they hit the bulletproof number (60) in the Senate, giving republicans a fighting chance of holding off the anticipated onslaught of liberal legislative proposals. Voters in North Carolina showed Sen. Liddy Dole the door after a nearly invisible first term. Note to women of a certain age: If you’re considering plastic surgery, check out a recent Liddy Dole photo.
In Alaska, voters returned convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens to the Senate where he faces almost immediate expulsion, possibly setting the stage for Gov. Sarah Palin to replace him.
Speaking of Palin, I find it interesting that the same geniuses who plucked her from obscurity, claiming she was ready to be president, are now savaging her as a diva moron who didn’t know Africa was a continent. If what they’re saying is true, McCains advisors are the real losers here because they either knowingly put an idiot a heartbeat away or lied about vetting her. Shame on all of you.
In California, a ballot initiative banning same sex marriage met with voter approval indicating the cultural war doesn’t always mirror electoral or partisan success. Not surprisingly, the City of San Francisco immediately announced it intends to challenge the constitutionality of the ballot initiative. Apparently those reservations only surfaced after the measure failed.
Locally democrat Kirsten Gillibrand won easily, defeating Sandy Treadwell for Congress. Treadwell’s candidacy died a little bit every time Gillibrand ran the video of Treadwell praising George Bush. Treadwell’s loss also proved ,once again, money can’t buy you love or a Congressional seat.
In the 99th Assembly district republican Greg Ball brushed off John Degnan after a nasty campaign. In the 102nd Assembly race incumbent republican Joel Miller had little trouble dispatching democratic newcomer Jonathon Smith. Both candidates took the low road at times and spent a ton on paid media.
The real winners I hope are the American people. Barack Obama represents a real break with the past and a turning of the page from the controversies of the Clinton years and the missteps of the Bush era. We should all give him the chance to succeed.