Reflections on the election

Inasmuch as the nation is facing a heavy debt and a significant number of people are out of work, it must be a surprise to the supporters of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that he lost the election. After all, he campaigned on jobs and reducing the debt and told us he had solutions.

Additionally, given the optimism that Romney supporters showed prior to Election Day, there must have been things he did or said that swayed potential voters over to the Obama side in spite of his grave warnings about voting Democratic.

Observing merely from a rural, and admittedly not-very-political view, we’re guessing these are some of the things that pushed the mood slightly to the left.

1. There is about 8 percent unemployment. That means that 92 percent of the people are employed, and many of them are breezing along, making the same salaries (or more) that they made four years ago. To them, the unemployment is not real. They have jobs.

2. Mitt Romney didn’t come off as very nice. Was he enthusiastic? Yes.

Did he appear sympathetic with people who were going through a hard time (or old) and relying on unemployment compensation, Medicare or Social Security? No. (And those people live in Florida, which he lost)

Did the story of the dog on the roof of his car help him? No.

3. It’s probable that the 47 percent of the people in the U.S. whom he implied were lazy or milking the system did not agree with him.

4. When he said he would create jobs, was it wasn’t easy to visualize. It’s pretty clear that he wasn’t about to open up a factory and hire people himself. And it’s difficult to follow through in one’s mind what the process is that he would go about -- either with the help of Congress or by himself -- to make jobs pop up, especially if there is no demand for their products.

Another question the voting public must have asked is what kind of jobs is he talking about? Painting bridges? Applying widgets on an assembly line?

And while he was at it, if the problem was so pressing to him and he cared so much for the people who were aspiring to work, why has he kept his method a secret for the past four years?

5. He catered too much to the far right.

Even the most sedate, traditional family members must have asked why he was cozying up with the gang that was whining about birth control and gays getting married.

When you consider it, just about every family has a gay member whom they are fond of and would not want to deny the privilege of living with the one they love. And most people consider it wise to limit their number of children.

6. It’s difficult to visualize the national debt. Most people go to work, bring home their check, pay the electric company and the grocery store, and then repeat the cycle another two weeks later. Their most significant tax bill is to the school district. All that talk about trillions of dollars that are sitting who-knows-where is just not real to most people.

7. And finally, when they saw Chris Christie and Barack Obama getting sweet and cooperating in the face of a storm, millions of people breathed a sigh of relief and said, “My God! Finally two people of opposite parties are working together -- bipartisan -- no fighting. Just like they taught us in kindergarten. We want that!

Why couldn’t Mr. Romney let down for just awhile, and behave the same way?