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 …