The winner of the votes was Barack Obama who will be sworn in as the next president of the United States in January.
Having run a sexist, homophobic, ageist campaign, it's hard to call Barack a 'winner.' Fortunately for him is his cult is both numerous and vocal. What they lack in logic and reason, they make up for with thuggery.
The second big vote getter was the McCain - Palin ticket. Senator John McCain and Govenor Sarah Palin.
Palin is seen as a strong voice in the Republican Party's future so naturally the press violates all the rules to spread a whisper campaign. No, The New York Times is not supposed to allow opponents to attack someone without coming forward. Strange that when they acknowledge that policy these days, it's usually when someone in the entertainment industry threatens to sue the paper. The threat of lawsuit will always force the paper to issue one of those, "Oops, we goofed. It is not our policy to allow character assaults to be launched by unnamed persons." Maybe Palin should threaten to sue?
The third largest vote getter was Ralph Nader.
Today, 11:15 EST, he will be on MSNBC.
Ralph's campaign has to go down as a success in our books because he was blocked out by the media, had to go around and did so effectively.
There's also another lesson that he may or may not have grasped but it's one the Green Party (Ralph ran as an independent, he is not part of the Green Party and hasn't been their nominee nationwide since 2000) needs to. Ralph got invited on ABC's This Week. Others not named "Obama" or "McCain" weren't so lucky. Today he'll be on MSNBC.
How's that happening?
Because reporting is conflict. If it's not conflict, it's a bulletin, a family letter.
Issuing bland or goo-goo congratulations to an opponent? Not going to led the news.
Nader got mainstream coverage when he dared question the Christ-child. It was frequently the only time the MSM nationally bothered to note his campaign. In an environment of Kool-Aid drinkers, he stood out.
There should be a lesson in that for all candidates in the 2008 race and in future races.
And you can count that among Ralph's many accomplishments. He showed how to run a campaign. He showed how to go up against an in-the-tank MSM and still come out on top. He wasn't the favorite 'dark horse' this year. The favored one was Bob Barr for 2008. But he still managed to make waves, get his message across and reach out to new voters.
While a number of people who have long been supportive of Ralph's presidential campaigns did stick on board this year, it's also true that he saw a huge influx of new supporters. And that came about because a message isn't spoken once to a response of everyone saying, "Oh. right!" It takes time to get a message out.
Seeds Ralph planeted in 2000 are only now beginning to sprout.
And each of his races has made it easier for independent and third party candidates.
This cycle he popularized the term "political bigotry." It's a term that needs to be popularized. There are no 'spoilers.' No votes are owned by anyone other than the individual voter (who only owns his or her vote). Votes are earned.
And Ralph Nader educated the country on that. Many of us are among the educated. Ralph got votes from many of us for the first time (Jess voted for Ralph in 2004). It was a good run, it was a noble run. It was an issue based campaign that was slammed, ignored and mocked.
And still Ralph got votes. And still Ralph stayed on the campaign trail. And still Ralph raised funds. And still Ralph raised issues. So we congratulate Ralph Nader, we congratulate his running mate Matt Gonzalez and we congratulate those Americans who -- whether they voted for him or not -- appreciated his running and listened when they could in spite of the media blackout.
Meanwhile, there's Barack singing in front of his mirror. "I love you . . . I honestly love you . . ."