The Election

Sonofagun, to put it in its mildest form. It appears Romney was right about the 47%. In the clearest electoral choice in almost two generations, the citizens chose an entitlement society - even in the face of the economic malaise and fiscal disaster it (always) produces. I thought 47% was way too high a percentage; needless to say, I was wrong.

But right as he was about that, Romney and his team were wrong on just about everything else: messaging, campaign themes, and tactics. The constant harping on the economy to the exclusion of national defense and cultural issues proved devastating for the one thing Romney had under his control: getting out his base. Coupled with a pitiful GOTV effort, Romney failed to get as many votes as John McCain (!!) If he had, he would have won, because Obama lost nearly 10 million votes since 2008. (Update: It appears Romney did slightly exceed McCain's totals, and Obama lost only 7 million votes. But the analysis is still the same - in this red-hot election year, Romney should have exceeded McCain's totals by a good margin. If he had done so, the President's failure to turn out his own voters would have given Romney the win).

But Romney didn't win, and neither did we. And neither, I fear, did America.

But keep in mind that things looked dire for the Republic before, after the electoral victories of Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. And our principles endured. So keep the faith, especially now when faith in things unseen is all we seem to have.