Seven Things the Election Meant

Some things were out of our control. But a lot of things weren't.

by Rod D. Martin
November 7, 2012

I have not entitled this op-ed “What the Election Meant”.  That might be a bit grandiose for the day after.  But November 6, 2012 definitely taught us some things we must not ignore.

First and possibly foremost, stuff happens. In this case it was a hurricane.  Sandy kept Mitt Romney off TV for five crucial days, days which, without Sandy, would almost certainly have seen Romney’s lead solidify and grow.  Instead, Barack Obama had a rare (and rarely taken) chance to look truly presidential, for the entire last week of the campaign, with zero competition.  He did take it, aided indelibly by visuals of a certain portly Republican firebrand governor fawning all over his presidential greatness.

Which is the second half of this lesson:  Sandy may have put Obama over the top.  It may also have relegated Chris Christie to the list of also-rans.

Second, this election was not some massive failure by Mitt Romney.  It’s always easy to dump on the loser, but the truth …