NEWS SCENE PERSPECTIVES SPORTS PUZZLE STAFF CONTACT   Where did it all go wrong? by danielle swanson STAFF WRITER      Now that Barack Obama has become President-elect of the United States, even Obama voters are wondering: how on earth did the McCain campaign manage to trip up so badly? By all rights, the race should have been dead even. States like Indiana, Ohio, Florida and others that typically lean Republican should have been more hotly contested, and perhaps should have been won by the conservative candidate. So what happened to John McCain, the maverick who, before his presidential run, could have been viewed with equal ease as a moderate member of either party? McCain’s choice of vice president was surely the most egregious of his blunders. In a misguided effort to appeal to the far right and to Hillary Clinton’s disillusioned female fan base, McCain bypassed candidates who had proven themselves competent in the federal arena — including former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman, in favor of Alaska governor Sarah Palin. In some ways, Palin served her purpose: many working mothers found it easy to identify with her, and she garnered enthusiastic support from her fellow evangelical Christians. Unfortunately for the McCain campaign, most Palin cheerleaders were ready to back the Republican candidate anyway. With the selection of Palin, an unknown whose qualifications were questionable at best, McCain may have alienated some of the swing voters who would have given him an actual shot at the presidency. Another mistake? McCain’s attempts to peg Obama as a socialist. Not only did this prey upon an outdated fear of socialism and communism that lost its relevance back in the 1950s, it also sparked outrage in countries that have embraced socialized medicine and other programs funded by the government. These nations include some of our closest allies: the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. This could not have inspired confidence in him by those who hope to repair the state of our international relations. In McCain’s concession speech on Tuesday night, the Arizona senator congratulated Obama on his victory, pledging to support Obama through some of the most monumental challenges ever faced by an American president. The only trace of the formerly mean-spirited and awkward campaign came when several audience members booed at the mention of Obama’s name. McCain responded by holding up his hands and telling them “Please,” in a mostly-successful effort to quiet them. McCain’s speech was classy and thoughtful, revealing the articulate, intelligent politician who may have earned even the hearts and minds of staunch Democratic voters if his campaign had been handled differently. He spoke so frequently about “reaching across the aisle,” and then contradicted himself by choosing Palin, by pandering to the religious right and by running one of the most fiercely negative campaigns in history. Senator McCain and his advisers did their party an enormous disservice by discarding the unconventional beliefs and voting record that earned McCain the title of “maverick” in the first place. More than anything, McCain’s failed campaign shows that a presidential candidate should be unafraid to retain his or her personal values. The American people deserve and demand that honesty.