Reflections on this past year's election cycle

In the final analysis I am happy that America finally has taken a step in righting past wrongs and elected a black man as president. I am also happy that John McCain graciously, admirably, and honorably stepped down.

Now, I must say some things about both campaigns (and remember, I voted for Bob Barr/Wayne Root):

-- John McCain began as the real John McCain. The John McCain most people have come to know, love, and respect. He was condemning Obama critics whom he felt stepped out of line left and right. He ran a clean campaign. But some time in early August, things changed. Rudy Giuliani was horribly disrespectful at the RNC Convention. Baseless allegations of friendship with William Ayers started flying out from McCain surrogates with no condemnation from McCain. Then the Rashid Khalidi red herring/strawman was put up. Then a 501c3 organization put out an ad yesterday playing clips of Jeremiah Wright sermons. That was all desparation.

-- Right wing talk radio was also disgraceful this entire time. I remember an instance in which on the Mike Gallagher show an African American girl called in and said she supported Barack Obama and then Gallagher shouted her down and said to her that the only reason she's supporting Obama is because he's black and so is she. On the Bill Bennett show, former Senator Rick Santorum said that the only reason Obama's ahead is because he's black. WOW.
And need we remember the footage of people outside of a McCain rally waiting to get in, yelling out derogatory remarks like "Mohammed Obama" and other sorts of bigoted and racist even, remarks. I had never seen such a thing since the last time I watched a KKK documentary.

McCain would have still lost had all this not been the case because of the history-making aura of electing the first black president. But it would not have been the landslide it was. America has not seen an election that distant in terms of the winner and the loser since 1996, and that was only because of Ross Perot taking votes mostly away from Bob Dole.

I know that John McCain will go back to being the old John McCain now that this is over.