Doing the Math

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There was a moment, before the conventions, when it definitely seemed like McCain's campaign was gearing up to drive home a message about shaking up Washington. They put out an ad that said he was called "the original maverick." But once they got out of their convention, they really stopped driving that message and instead went on the attack in a way that was undermining the image of change that McCain was trying to drive. You can't send mixed messages out to the electorate.

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On the ultimate meaning of the 2008 election:

Any candidate for President has to clear a Commander in Chief threshold on whether they have the judgment and readiness to lead. But we believed from the start that the economy would trump issues. We saw continually that voters really were focused on wanting long-term solutions. Senator Obama immediately opposed the gas-tax holiday because it was exactly the type of Washington [gimmick] he was saying wouldn't solve our problems.

This was not a small election. This was a big election. But McCain talked about earmarks instead of about changing the tax code. When the issue was energy independence, his focal point was drilling instead of getting us off this addiction to oil.

Barack Obama spoke to a kind of change that resonated with Americans. They have grown weary not just of the type of politics we've seen but also of how politics has gotten in the way of solving real problems. In this campaign, voters have always known the stakes were very high.