Let the postmortems begin! The first few days after an election are kind of exciting, considering all the juicy gossip we get from reporters and campaign staff. The media this morning is still digesting Obama's victory, pondering the reasons for McCain's defeat and letting loose with a bunch of McCain-Palin gossip.
Also, reaction to Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff and a look at Obama's strength with young voters and minorities.
And, some reaction from Asia on Obama's presidency.
USA Today hops on the McCain postmortem train. Their conclusion? While McCain did face an incredibly difficult political environment for any GOPer, he created many of his own problems:
In many ways, the story of the McCain campaign revolves around two dates: Aug. 29, the day he unveiled Palin as his running mate, and Sept. 24, when he suspended his campaign.
Even in that FOX video citing Palin's belief that Africa was a country (the subject of ksh01's recommended diary), the FOX anchor acknowledges that Obama's numbers started rising - and McCain's declined - right around the time of the Palin-Couric interview, which was several days before McCain's comment on the fundamentals of the economy.
"I don't see how he could have energized his base without her," Luntz says, "but I don't see how he could have gotten the needed independents with her."
Independents ultimately supported Obama over McCain, 52% to 44%, according to voter surveys on Election Day.
::::::
The New York Times also has a pretty interesting article about the infighting between the Palin and McCain camps:
As late as Tuesday night, a McCain adviser said, Ms. Palin was pushing to deliver her own speech just before Mr. McCain’s concession speech, even though vice-presidential nominees do not traditionally speak on election night. But Ms. Palin met up with Mr. McCain with text in hand. She was told no by Mark Salter, one of Mr. McCain’s closest advisers, and Steve Schmidt, Mr. McCain’s top strategist.
I can totally picture Palin walking into McCain's suite, speech in hand, saying she wanted to speak before his concession. By the way, Palin was greeted in Alaska with chants of "2012"... The key word in this article?
Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has returned to her home state of Alaska, where she was greeted by dozens of supporters encouraging her to run for president in four years.
::::::
Dan Gertstein at Forbes argues that no postmortem of Election 2008 is possible without discussing Obama's tremendous political talents:
Well before anyone else, he pegged the mood of the country, anticipated what it wanted (as well as what it would bear) and then constructed a killer campaign that not only slayed two giants but finally cracked the code for the Reagan Democrats that have been the linchpin of the Republican majority.
That's no accident of fate. Nor were the tens of thousands of people who streamed to his rallies across the nation, and who were drawn by something more positive and powerful than pure anti-Bush animus, or the 349 electoral votes Obama won Tuesday.
::::::
And, Geoff Garin, Democratic pollster, says the GOP is finally reaping the consequences of its emphasis on the culture wars:
Third, while Republicans may have gained some momentary advantages by engaging in the culture wars (and might do so again from time to time), in the longer sweep they have paid a steep price by identifying themselves as wanting to turn back the clock on what many Americans, especially younger ones, accept as progress that comes with changing times.
::::::
And speaking of younger voters, Democrats are doing well with the fastest-growing segments of our society. Bloomberg News reports:
Barack Obama was propelled to victory by the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. electorate -- suburbanites, minorities and young voters.
Two-thirds of voters from 18 to 29 years old favored Obama, a 12 percentage-point increase from 2004's presidential vote. Obama also attracted votes from two out of three Hispanics, the fastest-growing demographic group, making the difference in Florida, Colorado and other states with significant Hispanic populations. More than 40 percent of Hispanics voted for President George W. Bush four years ago.
This is really encouraging to me, as I think of our future electoral prospects.
::::::
Orange County, California has always been a Republican stronghold and the California GOP may be a little unnerved by Obama's relative success in that county:
In final, unofficial returns Barack Obama got 47.3 percent of the vote – the highest margin for a Democrat since Franklin Delano Roosevelt beat Alf Landon here in 1936.
::::::
In addition to election postmortems, the pundits are debating the pros and cons of Rahm Emanuel as Obama's potential chief of staff. John Nichols at the Nation wonders if Emanuel can really help bring about the change Obama is seeking:
Picking Emanuel would reassure Wall Street, but it won't give much comfort to Main Street.
It will also cause some head-scratching among Democrats who thought they were making a break not just with the Bush administration but with the compromises of the Clinton era. Emanuel, a fearsome fund raiser, is closely aligned with the corporate-sponsored Democratic Leadership Council, the most "insider" of Washington-insider groups.
And, while Obama established his credentials with progressive Democrats by opposing the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing President Bush to go to war with Iraq, Emanuel supported it.
I get his point, but I don't think Obama can have an "Iraq test" for his new administration, filling it only with those who opposed the war. After all, he has said he wants people who will challenge his positions.
::::::
Jackie Calmes at the New York Times, on the other hand, asks why some Democrats - after watching Obama's nearly flawless campaign - are already second-guessing his first decision as President-elect:
Some Democrats say former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who is as laid-back as Mr. Emanuel is brusque, would be a better fit. Several have privately expressed or relayed reservations to Mr. Obama about Mr. Emanuel. To one Mr. Obama replied, “Rahm’s grown a lot.”
::::::
Meanwhile, conservatives are using this news as evidence that Obama will just practice politics as usual. Debra Saunders at the San Francisco Chronicle:
In his victory speech, Obama reached out "to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn. I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too."
Then Obama offered the White House chief of staff post to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., one of the most partisan creatures on the planet. Emanuel is infamous for brandishing a steak knife at a dinner celebrating Clinton's election that he used to stab the table as he named each enemy, proclaiming each "dead."
So how does this work? Obama hears the voices of McCain voters - and then "Rahmbo" knives more furniture and pronounces them dead?
::::::
Here's some reaction from my neck of the woods. The Hankyoreh (South Korea) Editorial board looks at the impact of Obama's election on South Korea's policy towards North Korea, which has taken a harder line since Lee Myung-bak took office:
The arrival of Obama provides us with an opportunity to maintain peace amidst big powers and grow a foundation for reunification. It will be a realistic opportunity only if we act effectively, and the point of departure for that would be a fundamental transformation of the Lee administration’s foreign and North Korea policies.
::::::
China has also been buzzing about Obama's election:
(Danwei)
The headlines included "America's First Black President," "Will Chinese Benefit with a Black Man in Charge?" "Obama: Change has Come," "Change Comes to America," and "America Enters Era of Change."
Evan Osnos at the New Yorker quotes Yang Bauyun, professor of international relations at Peking University:
“Obama gives greater confidence to people of the Third World,” Yang said, after the photo. “We, the black, yellow, and other races, can be the same as the whites! We struggled for independence and, finally, won that. Now we have won in another field—political affairs—and in a superpower no less.”
::::::
I'm still trying to digest the excitement of Obama's victory with the disappointment of the gay marriage bans in California, Florida and Arizona. I was struck by aphoto gallery I saw at the Wall Street Journal, showing the reaction of a "no" and a "yes" voter:
(Fred Greaves/Robert Galbraith, Reuters)
The contrast between the two was jarring. Especially seeing the sadness in the first picture celebrated by the man in the second picture. I really can't wrap my mind around it - what exactly is that man cheering? I find it hard to believe that gay marriage has any impact on his life whatsoever... yet there is open happiness and jubilation at the thought of denying marriage to gay people. I really don't get it.
::::::
So what's on your mind? What else are you hearing about McCain's postmortems and what do you think of Rahm Emanuel - good idea or bad idea?