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Considering the popular vote was SO close and so many of the individual state votes (determining which way the electoral votes would go) were SO close, I find it strange that the media keeps pointing to certain groups and saying they were key in getting Obama re-elected. Everyone is named: African Americans, Hispanics, Women, etc etc. In a close election, all the groups count. I don't see why one gets "credit" over others.
Voter turn out secured the win for Obama. We all knew that the right would turn out for this vote, the key was getting all of those groups previously listed that lean dem to their polling places... and inevitably getting them to stay in the long lines caused by the right trying to suppress the minority vote.
Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, and what they represented, however inaccurate that representation might have been. More than anything else, I think they motivated many young people and women to vote when they had previously been unexcited about voting for Obama. The national Republican party recognized this when they tried to pressure Akin out of the Senate race. It was never just about Missouri.
I also agree that Obama's ground game and superior targeting of messages to small groups was a major factor. Axelrod and Plouffe are the undisputed masters of maximizing resources in a campaign.
It wasn't that close. Close was Bush losing the popular vote in 2000, being appointed by the SC and then squeaking by thanks to Ohio in 2004.
Yeah, that was definitely closer than this election. I was looking at the CNN results page: when it came to the popular vote, Obama won by like 3 million votes, but like 120 million people voted. There was only a 2% difference. http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/main
That's why I think it's odd that they are attributing his win to only certain groups. Like to Hispanics and African Americans when he wouldn't have won without the white liberal vote either. Or to women when he wouldn't have won without men either. Everyone matters basically. Actually the only people who don't matter are those voting against the majority of their state (ie being a democrat in Arkansas).
Karl Rove secured the election with his annoying and out of touch anti-Obama ads.
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