Quick thoughts on the election from an armchair pundit...
1) I do not say this to personally disparage President Obama, but I wonder if there has ever been a president who has been re-elected with a more ineffective first term. (Use whatever data you want, not to mention the absolute shame/travesty of Benghazi.) The fact that the Republicans could not beat him says much about the weakness of their candidate and party leadership.
2) I think one of the big stories of this election is the growing influence of the urban centers. A quick look at a county-by-county map of the election last night (I couldn't get one to upload) shows vast seas of red with occasional splotches of blue. Yet the blue pulled it out. Obviously, this is because most of these splotches of blue correspond with large cities. The country is polarized in many ways, but the single biggest way may be the rural/urban split. Of course the split has always been there, but its widening.
3) Related to #2, if Republicans don't learn how to connect with minorities, they may never win another presidential election. Many of the states with large electoral college representation have huge populations of minorities. To state the obvious, this is a big problem for the GOP.
4) As one person remarked on Twitter last night, there is now going to be a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican party. Many will say it is time for the party to embrace gay marriage and immigration reform, among other things. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. If the GOP does go this route, we may see the emergence of a conservative, viable third party. (Perhaps an expansion of the Tea Party.)
5) Many Republicans are probably saying "I told you so" on Danny Akin's loss to Claire McCaskill in the Missouri senate race. But I really think it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think if the GOP establishment had not jumped ship on Akin, there's a good chance he would have been fine. Another example of poor GOP strategy.
6) God is on the throne. The re-election of President Obama fits perfectly into His sovereign plan. While the president's policies may lead to a less biblical and church friendly culture, this may in reality be the best thing for the Church. We have had it too easy for too long. A little fire may be good for us.
7) Finally, I can't help but make one more observation... There are a lot of similarities between the GOP and the Southern Baptist Convention. One blogger recently raised a stir when he said the SBC was a "red state denomination in a blue state world." But it's true. By in large the SBC is a denomination of older white people living in rural areas and suburbs. We are not reaching minorities very well, or our urban centers. (The two go hand in hand.)
