Lawn Signs And Looking Good In A Tuxedo

The crazy will be over soon, or at least I fervently hope so. In the meantime, here's another link to another interesting take on the election. A few days ago Republican writer/blogger Peggy Noonan called the Romney campaign incompetent. Shortly thereafter she clarified her thoughts -- she really meant that it was a "rolling catastrophe." She's now changed her mind and says that in her opinion, Mittens is headed for a big win. She can just feel it: "All the vibrations are right." Wherever it is that she hangs out, she's apparently seeing a whole bunch of Romney lawn signs. And didn't Mitt look spiffy in his tux at the Al Smith dinner a couple of weeks ago? If Mitt wins Peggy's going to look brilliantly prescient. If he loses, someone might suggest that her prediction was an incompetent one.

Friday afternoon update: Incompetent. In fact, not only incompetent, but what planet was Peggy on? To her credit, in her column today she acknowledges that things played out a little differently than she expected:

President Obama did not lose, he won. It was not all that close. There was enthusiasm on his side. Mitt Romney's assumed base did not fully emerge, or rather emerged as smaller than it used to be. He appears to have received fewer votes than John McCain. The last rallies of his campaign neither signaled nor reflected a Republican resurgence. Mr Romney's air of peaceful dynamism was the product of a false optimism that, in the closing days, buoyed some conservatives and swept some Republicans. While GOP voters were proud to assert their support with lawn signs, Democratic professionals were quietly organizing, data mining and turning out the vote. Their effort was a bit of a masterpiece; it will likely change national politics forever. Mr. Obama was perhaps not joyless but dogged, determined, and tired.

A whole bunch of Republican pundits and prognosticators have egg on their faces this week, but Ms. Noonan is the only one, as far as I know, that made her prediction based on good vibrations. Next time, maybe a little less time counting lawn signs and a little more time pondering actual facts.