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Yesterday, the last debate between the main candidates for the presidency of the world’s greatest military power took place in the state of New York and the two have confronted each other for the last time before things are turned over the voters for a real decision.

For me it is always a surprise to learn how the american media and political system manages to ignore small parties. Yes, I know many of you don’t know but in the US there are more than just Republicans and Democrats, but the candidates of small parties remain largely unknown due to being blatantly ignored by US and international media and thus their real changes of getting the necessary spotlight for publicity are minimized.

Yesterday, at Long Island, John McCain, the republican candidate, has lost the election. Was is predictable? Sure. Aside from the bunch of “analysts” that are afraid to call a Democratic victory during a Republican administration and want to keep things “politically correct” on the theoretical level to not seem “unfrair” to either candidate (which basically goes against the idea of making a realistic analysis), there was a minority that’s always believed in Obama.

When he was running against Hillary Clinton to get the nomination, he was a fresh new figure with a clever speech. That was what the people liked and the battered public who was sick of Clinton scandals and Bush wars needed an escape route. Obama was that route.

After that, the public saw that aside looking pretty and talking clever, Obama also had a clear dead-on approach to many sensitive issues, they knew Obama is also smart and ready to take on the reigns of the presidency. He eventually fought a close battle with Clinton but now he mopped the floor with McCain on every issue.

When he was opposing Clinton, she said that McCain would have the upper hand on Obama due to experience and so did many analysts who were worried that Obama’s speech would not be enough. It wasn’t, but against McCain, Obama unleashed a set of clear-cut solution for every detail of American policy, both domestic and foreign.

Given the cited experience, McCain should’ve seen this coming (damnit, when the BBC interviewed me, I’ve said the same thing, that Obama had a plan for change, not just words, I always assumed that since I knew that, so did McCain’s advisors) and should have prepared for it. Why didn’t he?

Bad advisors? Very probable, but a president has as primary source his own capacities. Aides and advisors are there to help, not to make policy for him. But I’m sure we can identify some major shortcomings:

1. Rigid thinking:  McCain based the core of his campaign on old formulas, the same old posters+talk, shake hands, go there to get pictures taken of himself, but no substance. In the beginning, the core of McCain’s speech was the same lithany Bush had used before: security, defend, win war, win war, win war. Nothing about domestic things.

2. Failed to distance from Bush:  Bush was the plague that has almost blasted the US away from the top spot in the world. Human rights failures, economy failures, social failures, the Bush administration went downhill across all charts. The Republicans got reelection by up-playing an artificial fear, implating fear in the american public and using that fear for political gain. It took the public 8 years to realize that but most important, during that time John McCain supported completely those failing policies, he upheld the legislation that led to today’s disaster situation and the people know that. Even more, he didn’t hesitate to shake Bush’s hand and promise publicly to continue those policies (he changed that only when the crisis burst). In this light, how can he be surprised people say he’s Bush Jr Jr ? A new face that will propagate the same misery all over the world might as well have the same name. Sure, that will win a share of hardcore Republicans, but it will score minus points will moderate Republicans and those of other orientation, which is the exact side McCain needs to win.

3.  Disoriented speech: When Obama was talking about economy and getting troops out of Iraq and reconciling with the international community, McCain was still attacking Obama’s lack of experience. This was a huge dud, wasted time and wasted opportunities to direct speech towards something useful. I mean, your opponent is talking about practical solutions and you are saying he’s inexperienced but offer no real alternatives … who looks as the inexperienced one?

4. Republican policies:  republican policies bankrupted America and made many enemies in the world. People are sick of double-standards and hipocrisy. Bush fooled them once (shame on them), Bush fooled them twice (shame on him) but three times now? It’s not gonna happen.

5. Sarah Palin:  hardcore republicans were pleased again, but everyone else shivered when this anti-choice fanatic who knows no geography aside from her state of Alaska and even less about foreign policy was chosen as vice-president. Obama’s Biden isn’t perfect either but she is downright idiotic. Much like her mentor McCain, Palin made a mess of all public appearances save for her last one, which I’m afraid it’s a bit late.

McCain did a nice last stand but Obama still got the upper hand. McCain’s rigid, militaristic, warmongering thinking made people see he’s unfit to run a country since a country isn’t a platoon in the army. The US can’t wage more wars and lose anymore friends and now the americans see that, finally.

Too bad it took them two destroyed countries and a ruined economy to realize that.