Why the election was a win for Conservatism... and hopefully Mitt Romney

The single most common interpretation of the results of Barack Obama's victory over John McCain was that Conservatism will now get some much-deserved time in the political wilderness, after voters overwhelmingly chose a center-Left platform over Conservative ideas.

Nothing could be further from the truth. And here's why.

Virtually every single time Conservative ideas were offered to voters, they responded with votes of confidence in them. For example, McCain -- who loves to poke Conservatives in the eye and kick their shins -- was behind by double digits in the polls in late August. He then picked a sharp Conservative who appealed especially to social Conservatives in Gov. Sarah Palin, and guess what? He got a double-digit swing in the polls in two weeks.

Late in the campaign, when Obama invaded Joe the Plumber's neighborhood, prompting the famous conversation on redistribution, McCain got some serious traction in the polls. Why? Because he had finally -- finally -- articulated a Conservative position on something. He talked plainly and powerfully about the relationship between taxes and economic growth, and how the Conservative way to address the economic crisis -- for example, incentivizing reinvestment, or protecting the growth potential of small businesses -- was what the moment called for. And he was rewarded by the voters, at least temporarily.

Then there was Prop 8 in California, and its clones in Arizona and Florida. Two of those were states that Obama won with high voter turnout, and that high turnout actually helped the passage of amendments that protect traditional marriage (minorities voted for the amendments in higher numbers than whites, at least in California).

Then there was New Jersey, where the governor/czar had two chances to further rape his loyal subjects and pillage their freedom of choice, and he lost both. Conservatives won on judge accountability and on public bond issues. In New Jersey.

In the days after the election, it became clear that McCain's lack of Conservative ideas contributed greatly to his loss, since Mitt Romney would quite obviously have handled the crisis better, as he has governed and managed successfully as a Conservative throughout his career in the public and private sectors (and the Olympics; I'm not sure if that's the public or private sector, maybe a little of both). Rudy Giuliani had better Conservative experience with, and plans for, entitlements than McCain, and Fred Thompson was light years ahead of McCain on Conservative legal issues.

Don't forget, most of the "moderate" Republicans, who told the Conservatives to shut up and back McCain once he won the nomination, were the ones who abandoned him and endorsed Obama.

In the last couple days, some of the McCain campaign staffers have complained about Palin, though much of what they've said has been demonstrably false (like the Africa issue). It has been petty, but it's a good example of the contempt the McCain campaign has had for Conservatives. No surprise that George W. Bush outperformed McCain in pretty much every demographic. For those looking to jettison Bush (like McCain), the people have spoken: We like coherent messages, loyalty, and a strong dose of Conservative wisdom. Even if Bush hasn't been Mr. Conservative in his second term, it's nice for Conservatives to see that a Republican turning on Bush wasn't a winning strategy.

In other words, neither party, and none of the major movements in this country, will shed a tear for McCain's loss. (Many individuals will shed a tear, and understandably so. But McCain wasn't part of any mainstream movement.) I admire John McCain more than I can say, for many reasons. But the McCain campaign should be wished a solid "good riddance" from this campaign. He won the Republican nomination on the backs of Democrats and Independents, and then returned the favor by shoving Conservatives under the Straight Talk Express. And now his former campaign staffers are trying to ruin the career of his Conservative veep.

So Conservatives shouldn't be saying: "What went wrong?" They should be saying: "We told you so."

Anyway, don't blame me, I voted for Romney.