Random Post-Election Thoughts

Here are some quick impressions I had from the recent election that are going here because they're too long for my twitter and cover too substantive a topic for facebook. Sometimes I back up my arguments, claims, etc. on this page with empirical data. Not this time, however. With that understanding, here we go:

• I thought Romney ran a decent campaign.  This may come as a surprise considering that he failed to defeat a President who has presided over an underwhelming economic recovery; however, I think Romney performed about as well as he could have.  He was always going to be fighting an uphill battle, considering that he's not very likable (which is subjective), not at all cool (which is objective), and uninspiring.  Note that none of these adjectives reflects on his competency, which I don't really question.  It's not fair to Romney that part of this election was a popularity contest, but politics isn't about what's fair.
• I'm interested to see where the GOP goes from here.  Do they adopt more moderate stances on social issues?  Their platform is clearly out-of-touch with a large share of Americans.  Republicans may make the facile argument that only economic issues should cross your mind when deciding whom to vote for, but I disagree.  Yes, the President has no direct control over the legality of abortions, and only very slight indirect control (nominating Supreme Court justices, for example).  Even if the Court were stacked with Republican nominees, odds are that Roe wouldn't be overturned.  Still--at some point, doesn't the GOP need to be punished for its stance on social issues?  That's how I felt, especially in this election, where the Democratic alternative was a pragmatist as opposed to a socialist, despite what some may claim.  Hey GOP, you can't just condemn gay marriage and attempt to revoke a woman's right to choose whether to abort her fetus/baby with impunity.  Not with me, at least.  (That's not to say that I voted for Obama; it's just that I didn't gloss over the GOP's social platform like some Republicans would've wanted.)
• I saw that about 75% of Asians voted for Obama.  This number surprised me.  What's the cause for such strong support of Obama among this demographic?  Romney's stance on immigration must play some part, I suppose.
• I wonder where Romney goes from here.  Obviously, he won't be running for President again.  Does he re-enter politics at all?  Probably not.  
• Nate Silver knocked it out of the park.  As Jon Stewart put it (and I'm paraphrasing), it was a victory for arithmetic.
• I'll leave y'all with this.  Not sure how I feel about it, but it's worth watching.  I've never seen a President cry before.