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2008 US Presidential Race, Obama vs McCain

monsoon

By monsoon
in The Coffee House

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snoogit Town

snoogit

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What I was interested in what appears to be the emergence of new "blue" states:

NC

VA

NM

CO

NV

FL

OH

These are states that not only voted for Obama, but also in the house and / or senate democrats gained seats. Also, NY Times has a great thematic mapping tool indicating the margin of victory for candidates in each county. Based on that as well as the number of democrat Congressional districts, the eastern seaboard & interior west indicate the republican's strength has significantly weakened in these places.

Is this permanent (at least in political years)? NC, VA, CO, NV & FL have experienced huge demographic shifts in the past 10+ years. Additionally NC, VA & FL have large Black populations & CO, NM & NV have large Hispanic populations. Lastly, the social conservative influence in rural areas may also be finally outnumbered in these states by suburban economic & environmental concerns.

FYI - I ignored Indiana because despite voting for Obama, it still appears to be a solidly republican state. Additionally Iowa was already being considered a 'blue' state coming into the election.

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Gard Burg

Gard

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Now that Obama has won, he will have the huge task of walking a fine line to keep everyone satisfied. Going too far to the left could just as quickly yank the rug from under him in 2010. Pelosi also called on Obama today to govern from the center. I think that most Democrats know good & well the general population stands somewhere in the middle and they learned what happens when you go too far on way or another.

Speaking of 2010...they are already speculating on it :rolleyes:

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ohioaninSC Whistle-Stop

ohioaninSC

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First of all, last night and today have been one of the greatest days of my life. I truly have faith in this great country again. I'm so glad we decided to finally get past the smear tactics and fear mongering of the GOP, and have left the religious nutjobs in the past (though somehow, they still scare people into voting against gay marriage :angry: ) to elect a great leader. First of all, I'm proud of my old home state of Ohio. In 2000 and 2004, they really let the nation down imo, but they made up for it now. I knew my current home state wasn't ready to make the change to blue, but I'm so glad that it was much closer than I thought. Maybe, after 4 great years of an Obama Presidency, the religious right will lose some more of it's hold and we'll turn purple. Surprised that my distict, which continually votes for Democrat John Spratt as our congressman, still didn't go for Obama. But, I knew this would happen, and that's why over the last month on weekend, I volunteered to go up to Charlotte to help the Obama team canvas the neighborhoods, and it looks like our historic effort has worked. I never thought we could turn NC blue for the presidential election (I thought we'd get close, but now quite enough), and wow, was I pleasantly surprised.

BTW, I thought John McCain made a very good consilatory speech, and for the first time since 2000, I saw the old John McCain. I honestly feel, had the real John McCain won in 2000, this nation would have been much better off, but he completely turned into a partisan idealogue to pander to that base, which has now been proven is not as big as it once was. I look forward to him being a maverick again in the Senate, and helping to get things done.

I also thought George W Bush did a nice job w/ his speech today. At least, they seem to be doing everything possible to make the transition as seemless as possible, which the Clintons didn't do, and for that, we should be thankful.

Finally, I hope A)the conservatives give Obama a chance, and root for his success, remember, even if you didn't vote for him, he's your president too. It's not up to him to reach out to them, it's up to them to reach out to him to offer their help. A mandate for change prevailed though and B)I hope that Obama does govern from the center, and doesn't go to far to the left. We saw what happened with the other direction, and this country is a center moderate country, and will punish the Dems if they go to far left. I hope Obama will do this, and if he does, he will be a great great President.

There will definitely be a lot of work to do, but I do believe America's best days our now ahead of us.

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monsoon Gigalopolis

monsoon

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^The only one that was remotely close to this one that I remember was the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976. After the Nixon/Ford years he was a refreshing change and was seen as a president of the people. However even this didn't come close to comparing to what Obama did last night.

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voyager12 Town

voyager12

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I am as celebratory as everyone else regading Obama's win. My euphoria though is greatly impacted by feeling horribly depressed and angry regarding our losses in regards to gay equality. Once again the gays pour their hearts and money into a campaign and get nowhere. We win in legal court and lose in the court of public opinion again and again. Obama is certainly a great improvement but in order to get anything done he has to govern as an incremental pragmatist. I somehow doubt that us politically radioactive gays are going to be on the radar during the first term.

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Gard Burg

Gard

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^

Well just remember how long it took minorities of color and women to get as far as they did. It took decades to get as far as they did. Overtime, I'm certain there will be more gay rights.

On another note, while I voted for Barr, I am quite pleased with the HUGE positive reaction around the world to Americans now once again. I have got countless emails from friends all over the world sending me congrats and telling me how the moods and views of the US and Americans in general have changed practically overnight. The only places where McCain was more popular than Obama was Israel and Vietnam. Kenya also declared Thursday a national holiday in honor of Obama. I also had an female Iranian friend kiss me on the cheek and tell me this election makes her love America and Americans that much more :blush:

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Charlotteman Burg

Charlotteman

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It's a happy day for Democrats everywhere.:)

I still think Elizabeth Dole's shameful behavior during the campaign deserves discussion. Her accusation that her opponent was an atheist was so over the top as to be disgusting. Liddy showed her true colors, and she showed her butt. Good riddance to Liddy.

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tamias6 Town

tamias6

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I am as celebratory as everyone else regading Obama's win. My euphoria though is greatly impacted by feeling horribly depressed and angry regarding our losses in regards to gay equality. Once again the gays pour their hearts and money into a campaign and get nowhere. We win in legal court and lose in the court of public opinion again and again. Obama is certainly a great improvement but in order to get anything done he has to govern as an incremental pragmatist. I somehow doubt that us politically radioactive gays are going to be on the radar during the first term.
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Neo City

Neo

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The AP just reported officially that Barack Obama will carry the state of North Carolina. The first time a democrat has carried the state in over 30 years.

The final Electoral math is:

Obama - 364 (landslide)

McCain - 174

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought 370 was a landslide? Obama would need to carry MO to obtain this and it doesn't look like that will happen now. It is close though with only a 6k vote difference at the moment.

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atlrvr Metropolitan Area

atlrvr

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As a Gay person, and to be fair about this, I don't think the Gay community has yet come to appreciate the ramifications of the decision they are asking people to make when it comes to "Gay Marriage". From a practical point of view it is a legal status that confers certain state and federal rights on a person relative to their partner. The most important ones are related to inheritance, tax benefits, and the right to make decisions in regards to death. However "marriage" by tradition in this society also has deep religious and cultural meanings as well. Many people who are completely supportive of Gays & Lesbians have trouble with "Gay Marriage" because they see it as an intrusion on this second part. Or at least they don't understand it.
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