Final Night - What I've learned, and hope others have too

On November 4, 2008 the election was the topic of discussion on a message board.  This is what I wrote:

Is the black ribbon for mourning?

For a while I thought McCain might win the popular vote. It is amazing that there is such a gap between the EV and the popular vote. The polls exaggerated Obama's national lead, but the trend was accurate.
My dad's brother said he would lose faith in the American people if this guy was elected.
Can we expect Israel to launch an attack on Iran?
The borders are not going to be sealed.
Iraq could turn into a mess.
I hope he is as mild as Carter and not a menace like FDR and Wilson.
This disproves the notion that the first black President would be a Republican.
I find it disturbing that a man with his background could become President.
The Western Europeans will be happy.
The conservative movement must not give up. The popular vote was fairly close and we still need to stand up for freedom.

Someone responded with this:

A 4% national popular vote margin is something the US hasn't seen in 20+years. It might not be as big as some expected, but it's bigger than either of the last 2 presidents ever got.

Another person responded to that comment:

Um...que? Clinton won by 9% in 1996 and 5% in 1992.

Then I wrote:

Do Illinois and Pennsylvania now hold special elections for Senators?

Wikipedia has an interesting list on how this campaign was historic:

The 2008 election was the first time in U.S. history that an African American was elected president. It was also the first time two sitting senators ran against each other, as well as the first time an African American was a presidential nominee for a major party. In addition, it was the first time in history that both major candidates were born outside the continental United States, Hawaii for Obama and the Panama Canal Zone for McCain. Since the Republican nominee for vice-president was a woman, Governor Sarah Palin, the eventual winning ticket was bound to be historic, as neither an African American nor a female had achieved either of the respective offices. If John McCain had been elected, he would have been the oldest first-term president. Senator Joseph Biden is the first Roman Catholic vice president to be elected.

Another person said:

Here's my idea for a 2012 ticket:

Huntsman/Cantor.

Pro-evolution Mormon and Southern Jew combo.

I responded with:

I did not support Romney as he seemed like a Johnny-come-lately Republican, but I might consider Huntsman. I did vote for him as governor. I was listening to a local radio station and they think Romney will be the pick since he came in second (didn't he tie Huckabee?). I think Utahns are just too obsessed with him and I don't see the political reasoning for it.

Someone posted a quote that Steven den Beste wrote on his blog:

Now he has to reveal his true agenda. And with the Democrats also having a majority in both chambers of Congress, now the Democrats really have to lead. And they're not going to do a very good job of it. It's going to be amusing to watch. And the people who fell for the demagoguery will learn an invaluable lesson.

I responded with this:

I'm not familiar with the guy, but I expect this also. However, it is frustating that we go: lather, rinse, repeat. I do think that losses are supposed to help Republicans get back on message though.