Strassel: The GOP Turnout Myth - WSJ.com
Even as Republicans have engaged in some agonizing over their candidate and agenda, many have sought comfort in the notion that a big part of the loss came down to simple mechanics. President Obama had a stunning Election Day operation, which turned out his base. Mitt Romney's shop, by contrast, failed to get people to the polls.
That explanation is soothing because it suggests that, in the future, all the GOP needs is a slicker piece of get-out-the-vote software.
It's also broadly wrong.
The turnout myth comes from a statistic that has been endlessly repeated: Mitt Romney got fewer votes than John McCain in 2008.
This isn't quite true (Mr. Romney this week eked past the McCain totals), and in any event it is somewhat irrelevant.
The Romney vote count reflects a nationwide voter turnout that was down nearly five percentage points from 2008.
What matters is how the GOP did in the battleground states.
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