Myths of the 2008 Election

Myth #1:  Huge voter turnout
The fact is we did have a large voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election just like we did for the 2004 election.  However, the turnout numbers were nearly identical to the 2004 election.  The estimate is that around 60.7 percent to 61.7 percent of the eligible voters cast ballots this year.  In 2004, that number was 60.6 percent.

Myth #2:  The media was not biased in favor of Obama
The Center for Media and Public Affairs conducted a survey to find out how the media covered both campaigns.  The results?  65% of news stories showed Obama in a positive light while only 31% of news stories showed McCain in a positive manner.

Myth #3:  Obama is a champion of change
Jim Geraghty has a rundown of some of the recent people that Obama has tapped to be advisers or Secretaries in his new administration.  Some of the people Obama has tapped either served in Bill Clinton’s administration or have been in politics forever:  Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Rahm Emanuel, Tom Daschle, Greg Craig, Eric Holder, Janet Napolitano, Peter Orszag, and more.

These individuals are prime examples of Washington and political insiders that seem to diverge from Obama’s pre-election rhetoric of: “The real gamble in this election is playing the same Washington game with the same Washington players and expecting a different result” - Barack Obama, December 27, 2007.  So much for “change.”  I guess we’re just left with “hope.”