The American Spectator

The Spectacle Blog

Just one more thought on the Obama turnout machine in the wake of the Georgia runoff results: Whatever organization he had in place on the ground and however strong the black voter turnout, Barack Obama did not win Georgia on Election Day. Jim Martin ran slightly behind Obama. The only reason this went to a runoff in the first place is because Saxby Chamliss ran behind John McCain, due in part to a Libertarian candidate.

Take away the high black turnout and the Libertarian candidate, and it was always going to be difficult for Martin to win. Anybody who thought he could just Facebook and Twitter his way to victory didn't pay attention to the results in November. The only shot Martin had was that a good Obama-organized ground game could shift the runoff turnout in directions more favorable to him. That, combined with lingering conservative discontent with Chambliss's votes on immigration and the bailout, gave Martin a slender reed upon which to hang his hopes. But it didn't happen. Given that Obama himself lost the state, I don't think it's the best test of whether his get-out-the-vote operations are transferrable to other candidates. It does show some states are as impervious to these tactics as they are Obama's charm, however.