Nov

Could any Republican have won?

I read a comment from Rudy Giuliani the other day claiming that John McCain was the best candidate the Republicans could have fielded this year, and nobody could have done better in the current political climate. I beg to differ.

Here is what won the election for Barack Obama:

Complete rejection of the Bush administration’s policies by someone who was fundamentally believable as an opponent because he had a history of opposition.

Energized the youth vote, independents, and those who had never been politically active before.

Raised tons of money via the web.

Opposed the Iraq war from the start.

Inspired a powerful and vocal grass roots movement and “ground game”.

Drew big, enthusiastic audiences, both live and online.

Spoke to Americans’ larger hopes and dreams about the future.

Presented a stronger and more sure-footed sense of how to handle the economic crisis than McCain.

If you look at these points, you can see that the Republicans had only one primary candidate who could have matched or exceeded all of those advantages. That was Ron Paul, and his party threw him under the bus.

Dr. Paul may not have been the perfect choice. I think he still would have had a tough time in the general election. But he was the best option the Republicans had.

The fact that his party couldn’t see the fundamental shift that had taken place in the country, even after suffering a resounding defeat in the 2006 mid-term elections, speaks to a severe leadership deficiency. Fielding a selection of neo-cons who each tried to “out-Bush” the other while ridiculing the one guy who could have actually won the election was a serious mistake.

The country has changed. It’s well past time for the Republicans to take notice.

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