Bush won the election. He probably deserved it, much as it pains me to say that. I mean even with a bad economy and what seems to be a perpetual war that we didn’t need to start, he still convinced enough people that he deserved another four years.
I think there are fundamental problems with the Democratic party. They do a decent enough job getting left wing liberals like me to vote for them, but that’s mainly an anti-Republican reaction, not a vote for the Democrats. That and a realization that none of the third parties stand a chance of electing anyone at the national level.
The Democrats have won three elections since Johnson choose not to run again in 1968. Carter’s 1976 win was in large part a reaction against Watergate and Ford’s appointment to the presidency. And of course Carter lost in a landside to Reagan four years later. Clinton won in 1992 against Bush due to a recession and force of personality. He won in 1996 thanks to economic prosperity and an unremarkable challenger in Bob Dole. While Clinton won the electoral votes and the election, he failed to win a simple majority of the popular vote. Although he got close in 1996 with 49.2 percent of the vote.
For more election stats check out President Elect.
In her blog Lori has a plan for the next Democratic candidate. Sounds like a good place to start.