WHAT WENT WRONG?

You had better hope I'm wrong about everything. let's see how the stock market does this week. DOH!

I wish more GOP had disrespected some of the decisions Bush made... now our soldiers suffer when Obama pulls the rug from under them.... did I support the war? yeah I did. did I like Rumsfeld's decisions during the war... well no. did I think dropping the interest rates were a good idea for the FED... no. did I like the end of the church/state division... no. do I support GOP, America, and Israel: hell yes. Bush f*cked up... and McCain took the fall. John is a good man. McCain got beat by Bush twice. most of all I am pissed that after voting for Gore and Kerry that I had to make a choice about supporting my worst nightmare. I have now lost three straight executive office elections. whatever side I'm on... I lose. all those Nader people on 2000 caused all this you know? I just hope I'm not right about Obama like I was right about Bush... I wish you could see videos of me before 2000 and saw what I felt about Bush... I felt about Bush the way I feel about Obama today
 
Noah David Simon at 12:40am November 5
I don't think Bloomberg will win with all the Socialist mania going down. don't doom the moderate or you will make McCain lose twice this year
for me it isn't about theory... but rather about leadership and people. Bloomberg is an able administrator... and a rational man. this is a world full of freaks this year.

 
Q:at 12:42am November 5
Bloomberg will win. It's already in the bag. My concern is what does that really get us? Since McCain lost anyway would we not have been better off running someone who could articulate conservative principles and shape the debate and build a movement?  An able administrator? Yes, absolutely. A leader? No. To be a leader you need followers. You need a movement to lead. He is not doing that. That's what Reagan did and it's what Obama is doing for the left.  That's how you change people's minds on basic issues, it's how you shape the electorate, it's how you move the population to your positions, it's how you WIN THE FUTURE.

 
Noah David Simon at 12:46am November 5
I'm awful tired.... and depressed. I really just want to keep the fringe from taking over. I don't care how charismatic they are. I vote for Tsongas in the 1992 primary.

 
Q:at 12:48am November 5
You have to realize that much of the country is not you and does not think the way you do or have your perspective. They need something to believe in and they need leaders to EXPLAIN things to them in ways they can understand and make them feel like they're part of something bigger than themselves.

 
Noah David Simon at 12:48am November 5
why not Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson or Hitler... cult of personality... I will take Bob Dole

 
Q:at 12:49am November 5
I would take Bob Dole too. But if he loses what's the difference between losing with him and losing with someone who actually excites people ? I think the difference is the future of the movement.

 
Noah David Simon at 12:50am November 5
I know that people who excite people are nutballs

 
Q:at 12:50am November 5
Bob Dole lost. McCain lost. That's the point.
So is it really better to run candidates who are more acceptable to moderates who still don't vote for them?

 
Noah David Simon at 12:51am November 5
yeah... and so Henry 2nd lost... and so on.... but the reality of Richard III is about to be felt

 
Q:at 12:51am November 5
What does that achieve other than giving New York Republicans an easier time with their liberal friends?  OK. But if McCain loses to Obama ANYWAY why is it better to run him?
I agree he would be better if he won. But he didn't. Neither did Dole. Because America is not New York.

 
Noah David Simon at 12:52am November 5
L. L... I didn't like Rudy... there are many kinds of Conservative... I ain't for a police state.

 
Q:at 12:53am November 5
I'm not trying to make you agree with me on all the issues. But please address the central point. If McCain and Dole lose ANYWAY why is it better to run them?
Bloomberg wins New York. I get it. I never argued with that. But McCain and Dole and Ford all LOSE America.
 
Noah David Simon at 12:55am November 5
I just vote for the man who represents me. why should I run with the mob and the pitchforks?

Q:at 12:56am November 5
Well if you think Rudy or Romney or Thompson are the mob with pitchforks I don't know what to say.  And if you're now saying you just vote for people who represent you, you've changed the argument. Because you were telling me why I should accept people who don't represent me cause they're better than the alternative. So everyone else should compromise but not you?
And again, if we lose anyway how does this help anything except make us slightly less distasteful to the left as we lose.

 
Noah David Simon at 12:58am November 5
no... just Rudy. it isn't the theory. It was from the experience of my stay in NYC that makes me warrant that opinion. Romney seems more level headed. ...don't get me wrong... I like Rudy as a commentator... just not running as mayor. and Thompson is a great man.  this is a real politic argument. I'm not talking theory. I'm talking application. Rudy made me miserable.

 
Q:at 1:00am November 5
Hey, I'm not a Rudy nut. He wasn't my guy. I'll take any of these guys. They would all lielly have lost but they would have articulated their positions and shaped the debate and made Obama explain himself.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:00am November 5
btw I voted for Romney in the primary... so... there you go

 
Q:at 1:01am November 5
I'm not looking for ideological purity. This is a pluralistic democracy of 300 million. I get that. But I'd like someone who can speak to principles.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:01am November 5
Rudy is funny... but on TV... I don't want him running the country. sorry but I feel that way about my Dad too

 
Q:at 1:01am November 5
I voted for Romney too. He was the best choice by the time the primaries got to New York.
You don't have to apologize to me for having problems with Rudy. I just want people who will shape the discussion and move the electorate. McCain and Dole and Ford all failed to do that.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:03am November 5
Romney lost because America still has bigotry against Religion... I know that from my own life. I loved Romney, but I would of been happy with Thompson.

 
Q:at 1:04am November 5
Agreed. But since we lost anyway wouldn't it have been better to run any of these guys and maybe win some of the arguments and shape the policies a little?

 
Noah David Simon at 1:04am November 5
look... I wasn't from Arizona... so I didn't have a hard look at how old John was till the debates. he looked horrible and I was trying to lie and say he didn't but he did... I knew it. I liked him because his words rang true... but he looked weak

 
Q:at 1:06am November 5
All I'm saying is politics is more than the next election and economics is more than the next quarter's profits. We have to run on ideas not just cynically try to pick the most appealing candidate and think we can win any election.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:06am November 5
L. L I'm a new conservative... so I felt akin to John... shaping policy isn't my place when I barely know the history of the party identity.. and it would seem the identity is going to radically change now anyway

 
Q:at 1:06am November 5
This was a Democrat year. I just would ahve liked to win some policy arguments and some down ballot races.

 
Q:at 1:08am November 5
Romney would not have lost Nevada and Colorado and would have helped with Senate races all over the place and would have won some economic arguments. Same with Thompson only he would have helped more in different regions and on legal issues more.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:09am November 5
like I said before I knew it was bad for the GOP when I was on their side. I hardly reflect the people. I'm from the elite college educated northeast establishment... for me the idea of giving the rich money seems foreign... but here I am

 
Q:at 1:10am November 5
Sometimes it's better to lose a battle in a strategic fashion that puts you in better position for the future than to compromise everything in a desperate attempt to try and win a lost cause.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:10am November 5
agreed... the Republicans are in a bad place.
it all sux... either way. no good will come from this. the real problem is not McCain... it was that Bush didn't represent his own values

 
Q:at 1:12am November 5
In a two party system you win some and lose some. But if you lose your principles then you're done.  Bush didn't represent conservatism but he did represent his values. Compassioante conservatism. Hands across the water. Let Ted Kennedy write the education bill and immigration bill, etc.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:13am November 5
theory is crap... but say what you are going to do. Bush didn't... we will suffer because of that... and my bet is we will suffer from Obama for the same reason

 
Q:at 1:14am November 5
See Bush compromised conservatism so all the geniuses decided we shoudl compromise it even more with McCain and that would save us. Then they all jumped ship and went for Obama.

 
Q:at 1:15am November 5
Theory is crap but conservatism is not theory. It's based on past real world experience from centuries of Western Civilization.  But see this is the point. We need leaders articulating that.

 
Q:at 1:15am November 5
Not reducing conservatism to "get the bad guys".

 
Noah David Simon at 1:18am November 5
for me the bad guys were a bit more threatening... but the problem is you can't compromise what you said you were going to do to keep us drunk and happy. dropping the FED interest rates costed the GOP the election. it wasn't getting the bad guys that was the problem... it is that you can't fight when you are stoned and drunk.  the fact is there were a lot of things that went wrong... I think McCain would of won three weeks from now

 
Q:at 1:19am November 5
I'm not against getting that bad guys I'm just saying that can't be your whole message. You need a message of why it is good to NOT drop the FED rate and take the short term pain. Remember, Wall Street liked the FED cut at the time. Cause it was good for short term quarterly profits.  Just like the intelligentsia all wanted the bailout.
It was the evil right wing pitchfork people who opposed these things.
See just because Bush wears cowboy hats and believes in Jesus doesn't make him a conservative.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:22am November 5
well the bailout seems to be working... no? but it is pointless to talk about a patient dying on the table... yeah this is an emergency... but just because I give permission doesn't mean I want my doctors to Rumsfeld my operation

 
Q:at 1:23am November 5
He is the scion of an elite New England moderate Republican dynasty who happened to grow up in Texas.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:23am November 5
yeah bailout... but what are the parameters of that? I'm not an expert here... but it seems like we have a mess here

 
Q:at 1:24am November 5
And the only way to avoid all this is to have leadership that articulates conservative principles on economics, fiscal and monetary policy, and other things in addition to getting the bad guys.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:24am November 5
believe me... I know who Bush is

 
Q:at 1:26am November 5
The biggest problem for the Republican party is not losing this election. It's that most people i the country have no idea what conservative even means anymore.
People who didn't agree with Reagan voted for him. People who do agree with McCain voted against him.  Moderates voted for Reagan in droves but abandoned the moderate McCain for the left wing Obama. People need articulate, principled leadership. Even when they don't totally agree.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:28am November 5
I think the problem was that McCain didn't have people. charisma is a factor though. but it is hard 2judge, cuz I really liked him

 
Q:at 1:29am November 5
I still like him. I don't want to kick him out of the party or anything.
He's a good man and an American Hero. He's just not a principled and articulate leader.
But he was only ever as popular as he was because the media used him to weaken the Right by playing up his maverick opposition to actual conservatism.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:30am November 5
I'm tired... and depressed and it is 1:29 AM. my brain cells are gone. I have been cartooning all day. this sux... I can't argue you competitively

 
Q:at 1:30am November 5
As soon as he was the nominee they slaughtered him.
Have a good night. You're part of the unofficial American aristocracy. What you think matters more than me. Please consider what I've said.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:31am November 5
McCain lost because the economy took a plunge... knit picking will do no good. you would of said the opposite if the election were last month

 
Q:at 1:32am November 5
I really would not have. He would have lost anyway. Just by less. The debates are why McCain lost.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:33am November 5
L.L. you seem to be on the inside... I wouldn't of friended you otherwise. is the American Aristocracy unemployed? ask my girlfriend... I'm college educated... but I am broke

 
Q:at 1:36am November 5
I honestly didn't mean that as an insult or to be sarcastic or anything. You really are. If the Republican Party loses everyone with a degree we're finished. This is why I try my best to express things to people from all walks of life. We need a broad coalition. Schlubs like me are not enough. We need people who are more liberal, more moderate, more intellectual, etc. Seriously, think about what I've said. Ideas matter. Articulate and passionate leadership matters.
As for your current financial situation, I really do hope things turn around for you.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:39am November 5
well... the election has given my cartoons some exposure... but I was on the loosing side. so maybe next time I'm the big man on the winning side

 
Q:at 1:41am November 5
Unless we stop Obama from rigging the courts, rewriting the rules, passing the Fairness Doctrine and Card Check for Union Elections and buying votes with his "tax cuts" that are really welfare I wonder if there will be a next time.
We are facing the prospect of a decade or more in the wilderness living under left wing rule.
We need organization, better use of technology and communication, younger faces, new blood, and articulate leadership.
We are now the minority at all levels of government. All we have now is 4 and a half Supreme Court Justices.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:44am November 5
I know... and that means any money I will make goes to his ass
I like being the underdog... I'm an artist. we complain a lot

 
Q:at 1:45am November 5
It also means that any victories in the War on Terror he'll take credit for and any failures will be blamed on Bush and therefor Republicans

 
Noah David Simon at 1:46am November 5
look I'm not happy... ok? but I'm tired. I know Obama is going to sell us short. I get it

 
Q:at 1:46am November 5
Petraeus now works for him. We need more then getting the bad guys because only the Commander in Chief can take credit for that.

 
Q:at 1:47am November 5
What he's going to do is not sell us short but fundamentally change America, move us left, and build a permanent governing coalition.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:47am November 5
Obama is power hungry... he might not act like Bush didn't over turn Roe V Wade.

 
Q:at 1:48am November 5
Obama is definitely power hungry. I don't get the reference to Roe though.
But I'll let you get some sleep. I know you said you're tired.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:49am November 5
political minds don't always say what they do. they compromise once in power. abandoning our troops would make Obama lose in 4 years

 
Q:at 1:50am November 5
He will only lose in four years if we reshape the political landscape. Ethnic politics is very powerful, being from NY you should know that.

 
Q:at 1:50am November 5
He is about to lock up the hispanic vote.
Please consider reading some Russell Kirk. I think you'll find his "The Conservative Mind" informative and not at all pitchforky.

 
Noah David Simon at 1:53am November 5
I will... thanks for the chat... zzzz ....tired!

 
Q:at 1:54am November 5
Israel launches first airstrike on Gaza since June...
20 rockets fired from Gaza to Israel...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081105/D948I1AO0.html It begins....
That's up on Drudge. Get ready for four years of madness.

 
Noah David Simon at 10:01am November 5
what a lousy night