Listen very carefully to the analysis of Barack Obama's phenomenal victory. You will hear pundits grasping at straws to belittle Obama's accomplishments, making them look utterly stupid in the process. Take US News and World Report's Michael Barone, for example:
The Democrats' victory -- and Barack Obama's -- was overdetermined and underdelivered... Huge majorities believe the country is on the wrong track and disapprove of George W. Bush; voters prefer generic Democrats over Republicans by 10 percent or more. But Obama beat John McCain by (at this writing) just 52 to 46 percent, running 2 points ahead of Bush in 2004 and 1 point behind George H.W. Bush in 1988. Democrats fell short of the 60 votes they need to stop filibusters in the Senate and made more modest gains in the House than the leading prognosticators expected.
He then suggests that Obama flipped red states by one percent here and there, which is patently false. (More)
His campaign outspent McCain's vastly on ads and organization in target states. That probably switched 1 percent or 2 percent of the vote in five key states -- Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Indiana -- which meant that Obama won a solid 364 electoral votes rather than a Bush-like thin majority of 278. All of which shows a certain ruthlessness.
McClatchy, for example, reported Wednesday in a widely distributed story that Sen Barack Obama "didn't get all the way there Tuesday" and his win "fell short of the kind of realignment that would've immediately altered the political landscape and forged an enduring majority that could dominate the national agenda for years."
Eric Black, writing in the Minnesota Post blares a headline: The Obama landslide that wasn't"
http://www.minnpost.com/...
It was a solid win, both in popular vote (52.42-46.28 or a 6.14 percentage point margin) and electoral vote 190 EV margin, (assuming North Carolina, where Obama clings to a tiny lead, is finally awarded to him and Missouri to McCain). That certainly dwarfs either of Bush's elections. But it was way far from a landslide by historical standards.
But in a contrary view, the Wall Street Journal reports, "Tuesday's substantial victory by Barack Obama, together with Democratic gains in the Senate and House, appear to have accomplished a fundamental political realignment."
The New York Times reported that Obama made "inroads" in the South which was "important symbolically and historically". The Times adds, "Political analysts attributed his victories in the South to an effective ground operation and an increase in non-Southerners and younger, educated workers." The Times adds that political analysts "also credited a high black turnout" and "dissatisfaction with President Bush, which pushed many independent voters into the Obama column".
Let's eliminate slanted opinions and look at the raw data updated today with most returns counted, because no one can rewrite THE FACTS:
STATE-BY-STATE ELECTION RESULTS
COLORADO
Obama 51% McCain 45%
KANSAS
Obama 41% McCain 57%
NEVADA
Obama 55% McCain 43%
NEW JERSEY
Obama 57% McCain 42%
OREGON
Obama 57% McCain 41%
RHODE ISLAND
Obama 63% McCain 35%
IDAHO
Obama 36% McCain 62%
SOUTH DAKOTA
Obama 45% McCain 53%
IOWA
Obama 54% McCain 45%
MARYLAND
Obama 61% McCain 37%
ILLINOIS
Obama 62% McCain 37%
NEW MEXICO
Obama 57% McCain 42%
INDIANA
Obama 50% McCain 49%
DELAWARE
Obama 62% McCain 37%
OHIO
Obama 51% McCain 47%
WEST VIRGINIA
Obama 43% McCain 56%
VIRGINIA
Obama 52% McCain 47%
TENNESSEE
Obama 42% McCain 57%
VERMONT
Obama 67% McCain 32%
WASHINGTON
Obama 58% McCain 41%
FLORIDA
Obama 51% McCain 48%
SOUTH CAROLINA
Obama 45% McCain 54%
GEORGIA
Obama 47% McCain 52%
ALABAMA
Obama 39% McCain 60%
MISSISSIPPI
Obama 43% McCain 56%
LOUISIANA
Obama 40% McCain 59%
TEXAS
Obama 44% McCain 56%
NEW MEXICO
Obama 57% McCain 42%
ARIZONA
Obama 45% McCain 54%
HAWAII
Obama 72% McCain 27%
ALASKA
Obama 36% McCain 62%
CALIFORNIA
Obama 61% McCain 37%
MONTANA
Obama 47% McCain 50%
NORTH DAKOTA
Obama 53% McCain 45%
MINNESOTA
Obama 54% McCain 44%
WISCONSIN
Obama 56% McCain 42%
MICHIGAN
Obama 57% McCain 41%
NEW YORK
Obama 62% McCain 37%
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Obama 54% McCain 45%
MASSACHUSETTS
Obama 62% McCain 37%
CONNECTICUT
Obama 61% McCain 38%
Source: Yahoo New Political Dashboard
http://news.yahoo.com/...