My Wednesday column. Initial reaction to the president's re-election...
As I wrote on Twitter last night as the networks called the election for the president: Thank you, America. Seriously. Thank you. Gratefully, American voters decided to reject a CEO shape-shifter and re-elect the leader who not only rescued the economy from disaster but who passed a law that will allow me and millions of others to receive affordable health care.
I assure you, I will not take the results of this election for granted. And I won't forget how dangerously close we were to coming up short. There's still a pile of work to do to fight back against the cynical, obstructionist Republicans and dark money groups who came this close to winning.
We'll surely spend the next several weeks evaluating how President Obama won the election and how Mitt Romney lost it. But I can't help but to think that too many voters decided that Romney was out of touch and regressive, while the president was diligent, tough, honest and, in many ways, historically successful (see aforementioned rescue from a second Great Depression). That said, Romney nearly pulled it off using the same kinds of slippery, under-the-table techniques that are too-often used by corporations to deceive consumers and investors.
Speaking of trickery and deception, this election is a massive victory for, affectionately, the nerds, and a major loss for obsolete pundits who think they can continue to get away with making prognostications based on "gut" and anecdotal observations. [continued]