By Susan Heathfield

The 2008 election will be remembered by Republicans as the year of the perfect storm. A candidate without majority support in his party ran a mediocre, old-fashioned campaign in the wake of a rising charismatic Democrat in an America tired of war and neoconservatism and experiencing an economic meltdown. An America-loving hero lost to an inexperienced orator who promises change. The only wonder is that the loss was not more significant.

The primary season sent a powerful message that no strongly backed, electable Republican emerged as a candidate around whom the party could coalesce. Sen. John McCain won because he was the least scary bet – that, and I suspect a bit of collusion with Gov. Mike Huckabee to squeeze Gov. Mitt Romney out. So, I was worried coming into this election season about how solidly Republicans supported Mr. McCain.

The neoconservatism practiced in Washington these past eight years did not serve the party well. Government growth, big spending, war, cronyism and the abandonment of conservative principles in the eyes of many created a Republican party in chaos. A fractured party with a fractured belief system came to the election table.

The Republicans failed to make a case that resonated with Republicans, much less Americans. In fact, their case never satisfied conservatives, many of who voted for Sen. Barack Obama to send fellow conservatives a message, as recent comments on Justin Quinn’s U.S. Conservatives blog demonstrate. Come back to the roots of the party, these messages say, or I’m gone.

Here’s the problem. Conservative commentators are going to talk for the next four years about how real conservatism must be re-embraced. But, I’m not sure this will win elections in America in the future. I am a conservative and even I believe that the conservative message must be articulated in a way that resonates with the new American electorate. The turnout for this election, the voters who proffered their votes for an Obama nation, are not the voters of old. They are the voters of the new.

Mr. Obama won nearly 100% of the black vote, the majority of the Hispanic vote, the majority of the 18-35 year old vote, and a small majority of female voters. It sends an historic message. Pres. John F. Kennedy said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” Many of these voters voted: “What can my country do for me?” It’s not a coincidence that a variety of YouTube videos show voters saying, “Barack’s going to pay my mortgage; Barack’s going to pay for my gas.”

But Mr. Obama’s win goes way beyond this new question – or always question - what's in it for me? The question is just more clearly articulated in 2008. Mr. Obama is an amazingly charismatic candidate. Young, articulate, educated, and attractive, he is an orator who has the ability to draw people to him. He ran arguably the most effective election campaign in history and raised money that most candidates never even dream of raising. I won’t quibble that I believe a lot of his money came from overseas and Mr. Obama’s failure to release donor records does not sit well with me. In fact, it’s one of the many reasons I don’t trust him.

Republicans have several lessons to learn from his campaign, though. They need to learn how to capitalize on the efforts of the shadow organizations, like the Democrats capitalized on the efforts of such organizations as MoveOn.org. In the final analysis, Democrats received a major boost from their coalition with these organizations both monetarily and in grassroots organizing. Republicans failed to mobilize their base of organizations that support conservative outreach efforts. As a voter, I felt as if they all worked in a vacuum and none served the same purpose or leader. The Democrats harnessed and channeled their support.

The Democrats ran a better campaign in the hearts and minds of Americans with more grassroots workers, callers, and offices across the country. This grassroots organizing is the wave of the future for elections; I thought Republicans knew this. It's fueled our success in the past.

The Democrats also ran a more effective online campaign and utilized the power of the Internet and social media. Their attraction to the young was significantly impacted by this reach. It’s not that John and Sarah didn’t; they’ve each been following me for months on Twitter, but their online outreach felt more like an afterthought than an intimate, focused effort in the campaign. Mr. Obama’s felt much different.

The economic meltdown occurred with perfect timing to stop any momentum the McCain campaign might have been gaining. Given that the economy was the number one issue for Americans, this collapse could not have occurred at a worse time for the McCain campaign. The economic meltdown all but assured his defeat. And, Mr. McCain never seemed to clearly articulate a message that resonated with voters about what he would do about the economy when elected president.

Daniel asks what I hope for in an Obama nation. The answer is: not much. Sorry. I support him as our president, and for the sake of our nation, but his beliefs are polar opposites of mine, so much of what he may decide, I will consider the wrong decisions for America. I hope:

• Obama’s national agenda is less socialistic than I believe it will be.

• His foreign relations naiveté will not be tested.

• He will really represent all Americans’ interests.

• He will understand the role of small business in creating jobs and success in our economy and not tax business into oblivion.

• He will not expand the welfare state that weakens America and makes all of us less competent, productive, and free.

The Republicans have four years to figure out who they are and what they believe in. And yet today, I hear that rather than focusing on the future, McCain campaign operatives are focusing on destroying Gov. Sarah Palin. She was the only bright spot in the campaign. Get used to her. Sarah Palin rides the wave of the future for the Republican Party.

It’s the tired old campaigners with their unarticulated, unfocused message and their old-fashioned methods of campaigning that handed this election to the Democrats. The only surprise to me is that, given all of this, 46% of America still voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin. That’s a solid base on which to begin rebuilding.

This week's previous posts (most recent first): Proud To Be An American, Obama Wish List, Will McCain Lose His Own State?, For Better or Worse, VOTE!, Why John McCain's Election Matters, Accepting Personal Responsibility