Sometime after Tuesday's election, we will learn who won the presidency for the next four years and just what led to the result. But in the meantime, here are some general issues related to the 2012 presidential cycle that deserve consideration.

Most political pundits know that presidential debates, particularly these absurd "town hall" debacles, are more about who makes a gaffe or has an "oops moment" than about who brings the better policy to the table.

Mitt Romney, as was clear to all who watched the first presidential debate, channeled Ronald Reagan right down to the glistening hair and respectful smiling face that listened as his opponent tap-danced and stutter-stepped his way to a resounding thumping in the contest.

Perhaps the most significant and disappointing theme that has run through not only my decades in politics, but my years afterward as a pollster and analyst, has been the GOP's increasing tendency to shy away from anyone or anything that is bold or unique.

Sept. 11, 2012, seemed like it was going to be another solemn day to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

Halfway through the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., one thing was obvious.

Oh, yes, it seems to happen to Republicans so often. Just when the other side stubs its toe, somehow the GOP trips over the entire foot.

I have already gone on record saying that the Romney campaign has not been mean and tough enough.

No one would believe it, but a combined effort by tea party activists and the NAACP helped defeat a proposed 1 percent sales tax for transportation on the 10 main counties that make up some 6 million people living in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

As one who polled the 2008 presidential race extensively, it dawned on me, looking at the various "swing state" surveys taken recently, that many pollsters might be making a significant error that results in President Barack Obama with a lead, when perhaps the lead in reality belongs to Mitt Romney.