Editorial
Editorial Epilogue – Why Obama Won Nov. 2012
For their part, conservative strategists argue that Romney did not respond to Obama’s preemptive attacks on Romney’s personality and ineptitude at governing ordinary people. They say that if Romney had only responded earlier and criticized Obama right back, maybe Romney would have won.
Obama the Boogeyman
But again, the Republicans seem to forget two simple things: First, after he won the primary, they, themselves, were still not really enamored by a man they considered a Massachusetts liberal, and they did not give him the money he needed to counter the very liquid Obama machine. Also, when Obama attacked Mitt Romney’s character, it was a result of the things Romney himself had said in the past. Yes – Obama’s people oftentimes exaggerated Romney’s awkwardness and his lack of a common man touch. Obama’s people played up their candidate’s likeability and in terms of a popularity contest, most voters still liked Obama as a person over Romney.
However, all that changed after the first presidential debate. Although he lied and prevaricated, Romney, as the calculating and strategic man he was turned out to be right. The 70 million Americans who saw the Republican nominee debate their first black president suddenly realized that Romney was plausible since he was very presidential. That debate alone erased Obama’s 6 month advantage and most people did not remember that he had changed his mind of countless things, that he had fired people each time his Bain Capital took over an industry, or that he had embarrassed himself on his first trip abroad as the Republican nominee.
In essence, though, the bounce that eluded Mitt Romney after the Republican National Convention and his ill-fated trip abroad was realized after the infamous October 3 debate performance. After that, the man had the momentum he needed. Conservative money followed him and while he had been trailing Obama in the polls, it seemed as though the independents and middle America awoke up to the Romney Revolution and to mittmentum!
Liberals immediately started their Chicken Little dance – predicting the end of days and liberals were despondent-galore! But even then, we predicted that Obama would come back swinging in the second and third debate – unlike Carter who could not redeem himself after his lackluster performance against Reagan since there had only been one debate a few days before that year’s November election.
The Heart of the Matter
In hindsight, we might as well admit that much of our sanguine prognostication was based on a combination of the electoral map, the national polls, an improving economy and most of all, hope that most Americans were more moderate than the conservatives presented them to be. Our hope was vindicated in the end because that’s how journalists and strategists really work. Just like anyone can sass out an off key sound, we saw how hollow Obama’s opponents were.
It was obvious that just like they manufactured the Tea Party Movement, the moneyed class had been successful at painting an Obama that did not exist. Now, they just to successfully run against him through playing on the fears of regular white folk; in hyperbole, nuance, dog whistles and downright obfuscation. Thank God that these powerful things did not work.
Dennis Matanda
Editor – [email protected]
