This was a great win for Barack Obama and a wonderful achievement for African-Americans. But I think the lesson for Republicans is they should have picked Mitt Romney. John McCain is a great patriot and I am very grateful for his service to our country, but he was not the right choice to beat Obama. Republicans were so worried about national security that they missed the most important issue in the election: the economy. They also failed to apprehend the threat of Obama's charisma.
McCain sounded too much like Bush on national security: stay the course, no fresh ideas. McCain didn't really have any message on the economy other than "I'm for change too". Romney is very sharp on the economy and I think he's the only one who could have beat Obama.
It will be interesting to watch how Romney reacts to the Obama presidency. Romney will be waiting in the wings. But is the GOP ready to nominate a Mormon candidate? And if not, who will they turn to next?