While there are many more factors that led to yesterday’s election results, here are 10 factors that I think contributed to an Obama victory:
10. G.W.B.A. Factor
Bush made things tough. His administration’s failures paved the way for Obama’s “Change” slogan to really work.
9. Grassroots Factor
The Snowball Effect—Obama really started building his campaign from the ground up. His community organizing skills came into play with the organizing of a nation of Obama voters.)
8. Media Factor
They were in the bag for Obama from the start. News outlets around the world have praised Obama for his accomplishments, failing to dig too deep into his past. From Chris Matthews to Katie Couric, news anchors shamelessly displayed their arduous feelings for Barack, thus inspiring greater appreciation for the Democratic candidate amongst the populace.
7. Broad-stoke Factor
Obama made a solid effort not to focus on individual states, but on the nation as a whole, while McCain invested his time and money into the battleground areas. Obama communicated to the entire country and won, while McCain risked and lost by narrowing his efforts to single states.
6. Age Factor
McCain’s old age made a lot of people nervous; especially considering his “inexperienced” VP choice…
5. Palin Factor
Was McCain’s VP choice of the Alaska Governor too daring?...too “mavericky”? McCain’s effort to gain disenfranchised Clinton supporters may have come off as overly-optimistic and desperate. And while “Sarah” appealed to the Conservative base, she didn’t attract enough undecided voters.
4. Economy Factor
The economy tanked over the last 6 months of the campaign. McCain made the terrible mistake of admitting that economics are his weak point. Compared to McCain, Obama was seen as the savior to America’s economic woes.
3. Messiah Factor
Speaking about being “the savior,” many actually believed that Obama himself is “the One” solution to all America’s problems. Yesterday, America drank the Kool-Aide.
2. Fundraising Factor
It’s simple: Obama knows how to raise money…and he raised a lot more of it than McCain did! Money isn’t everything, but it’s an huge benefit if you use it correctly. Obama used it right.
1. Race Factor
Anyone who denies that the color of Obama’s skin didn’t play the biggest part in his entire campaign is fooled. The “America owes it to them”-mindset had a heavy hand in tipping the scales. The historical prospect of electing the first black President added to the hype and eventually led to a much larger victory for Obama had he been just another old white guy.
Congrats to our new President-elect!
