Karl Rove's explanation of President Obama's re-election ("The
President's 'Grand Bet' Pays Off," op-ed, Nov. 8) obfuscates the
real failure of the Republican campaign machine.  About 2.5
million fewer people voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 than voted
for the unimpressive Sen. John McCain in 2008. Despite President
Obama's unpalatable (if not failed) presidency, and record
campaign fundraising on Mr. Romney's behalf, the Republican
machine utterly failed to match the previous turnout, votes that
could easily have been enough to defeat Mr. Obama.  Fingers may
be pointed at shifting demographics, Mitt Romney's gaffes and
the president's scorched-earth tactics, but it's quite possible
that the (well-paid) GOP campaign "pros" were simply not up to
the task.  Steve Milloy  Potomac, Md.  In contrast to the
president, the "grand bet" by Paul Ryan did not pay off. The
Republican Party's popularity likely reached a cyclical peak in
early November 2010, as evidenced by that year's election
result. Emboldened by the elect