Why McCain lost the election

McCain's recent moves after the financial crisis was a factor. The situation was an opportunity for John McCain to show leadership, to show that he has the right temperament for the job-- but instead, his reactions were erratic and too gimmicky/stuntlike to reassure the public. Compared to Obama's cool and calm, McCain's impulsiveness seemed like a riskier choice for voters.

Obama's performance in the debates were also Barack with the voters. He made a good impression on undecideds and he looked presidential. He beat McCain on the economy in the first two debates and did a respectable job on national security and foreign policy.

But the main reason why mccain's poll numbers have dropped was because of Sarah Palin.

Defenders of Palin like Rush Limbaugh claims that she gave McCain his only shot at beating Obama in this election. But that's nonsense. The slight lead McCain got over Obama in the polls during September was just your typical post-convention bounce.

If the McCain camp wants to energize the rightwing base, it could have done much better by selecting the more qualified Fred Thompson or the impressive wonderkid Gov. Jindal.

It could have played safe and smart by selecting economics expert Mitt Romney. Or it could have made a bold move by picking Condi Rice.

Pero hindi eh.

For independent voters, the Palin pick was a risky choice. She is unqualified for the job she seeks, and McCain is pushing 73 yrs old. If something unfortunate happens to the old man, many people would be scared of letting this woman take over the white house.

The palin pick was supposed to attract women voters and Hillary's PUMAs to mccain, but obama's slight lead among women voters has ballooned to a big double digit gap after sarah palin's disastrous interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric:

Women prefer Obama (51-38) while men prefer McCain (47-43), indicating the Palin strategy did not really work on females... Single women prefer Obama (65-26) while married women vote for McCain (46-43)

Take note, as Sarah Palin's once favorable-unfavorable numbers have steadily dropped after her convention speech, it dragged mccain's chances at the presidency down with her.


(poll source: FOXNEWS)

Look at the table, McCain's favorables are still good. In short, pabigat si Gov. Palin sa ticket.

McCain's VP choice also killed whaterver chances he once had with attracting independent and moderate republicans. Just look at the numbers for mccain before and after the Palin selection. Gen. Colin Powell endorsement of O. was the nail in the coffin for Sen. McCain.