Too tired to do more than pretend I'm Larry King and spout off quick thoughts.
1) Political scholars and pundits need to realize that the Democratic Party has developed a durable majority in presidential election years. Democrats have won the popular vote in 5 of the past 6 presidential elections; only an accident of history and Ralph Nader gave us W. Thanks again, Nader supporters. Democrats now appear to have a big Electoral College base as well and a variety of ways to 270; Republicans need to thread a needle to get there. Midterms are a different story, which is why we get divided government.
2) No one should have to stand in line for hours to vote.
3) No contemporary surrogate has affected an election more than former President Bill Clinton did this year. His extraordinary DNC speech heartened supporters and impressed others; he campaigned relentlessly for Obama; he developed arguments of such power that the president adopted them; he did a great job for other candidates as well.
4) President Obama gives great victory speeches. Grant Park 2008 was wonderful; last night was nearly as good, with its echoes of his 2004 keynote and Jefferson's 1st Inaugural.
5) I'll never understand Mitt Romney's rhetorical preparation for this campaign. He's been immensely wealthy for nearly his entire life; he ran a venture capital firm. He was hammered on Bain Capital in his losing 1994 Senate campaign and for the ways he earned that wealth. He's had years to come up with clear, convincing arguments on these issues and his taxes. Instead, he bumbled and allowed the Obama campaign to define him. Why wasn't he ready to go on such concerns?
6) Ten strong women from the Democratic party won election or reelection last night. Certainly, there's room to grow such representation, but it's a great night. And this matters. People bring different life experiences to elected office and it's useful for women to see women in the Senate and for those voices to be heard. Heidi Heitkamp, for instance, has fought breast cancer. Be nice to have that voice when the Senate debates NIH funding.
7) Rhetoric scholars need to think about alternatives to the current debate formats. I used to defend them. No more. They're awful. When both sides are open in 2016, and if nothing changes, we are likely to top 50 total debates, most of them in formats than reward preplanned zingers as opposed to any sort of engagement. I'm honestly going to think about this. Because those things are awful.
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