Given the woeful state of the economy, an incomprehensively huge public debt, and ObamaCare, among other factors, how is it that Barack Obama pulled a rabbit out of his hat and won re-election, albeit narrowly (in the popular vote)?   Daniel Mandel, a fellow in history at Melbourne University and an author, gives a first-rate summation of the president's re-election in his article, "Obama's Brilliant Victory," currently running at The American Spectator.  The article's subtitle says it all about Mr. Obama: "Whatever else he may be, he does play to win." Mr. Obama and his team ran one highly focused and disciplined campaign to re-elect a president who was vulnerable on critical issues and seemed ripe for the picking.  In the final analysis, Mr. Obama wasn't seeking puffed up vote totals; he was playing to survive, even if that meant turning off millions of voters through incessant negative campaigning.  The president ran a campaign of distraction and...(Read Full Post)