My First Real Thread Post

Almost a year ago I said Obama was going to win this election and win big. People thought I was nuts...my friends, my family. It didn't matter who, it seemed like everyone thought I was a loon.

I didn't care, I doubled down and bet money with anyone who was willing. I took the ridicule and the doubt with pride, knowing that in the end I'd be vindicated.

But why was I so sure? Two things: Nate Silver (DUH!), but more importantly, I do not care what anybody says, a presidential race cannot be won based on a protest vote. Romney's supporters were not supporters, they were hate-voters. They were voting based on their utter disdain for Obama and his policies and worldview. Now, that may get you to 48% of the vote, but you absolutely cannot win that way.

You need supporters the way Obama has supporters. Supporters who are willing to give you (the candidate) their blood, sweat, and tears. Have the willingness to go to the mat for you, to defend you and your policies, not just the party, in the face of brutal criticism and mistreatment. We saw this in rally after rally -- tens of thousands of people out and amped up. We were told that Romney had huge, gigantic rallies but they never showed them off. And we saw it in the elated tears people shed just listening to Obama speak about his vision. We all remember that one photo of the man standing a few feet in front of Obama, with his hand over his heart, absolutely enthralled with the moment he was in. We saw it when the man in the Iowa crowd at the last rally yelled "We got your back!" And they actually did have it. People say this wasn't a "hope election", I don't know what that means exactly but all the people I saw at the convention hoped Obama would win. At the rallies, people hoped his policies would be validated in this election. All over America, people hoped that Obama would be given the chance to break this division in the country's politics, people have hope that Obama will succeed in continuing the recovery. By winning reelection, it seems to me that that hope has been realized

It is this kind of support that wins election and the other side had none of it. All they had was an uninspired candidate that couldn't muster up a hopeful sentence to save his life. All they had was a message that no one could relate to. All they had was a hatred for a president that has probably done more for them than any other president in a long while. All they had was a protest vote.

We had Obama. And we won.