We are experiencing the Tragedy of the Commons

I have struggled to frame this presidential election in terms that explain to me why it went the way it did.

1. Too little turnout by conservatives.
2. Mitt Romney, admirable, honest, dedicated - a true Boy Scout - was too moderate for the conservative electorate.
3. Mitt Romney changed positions too often.
4. Mitt Romney could not attack Obamacare, one of the most unpopular of Obama's enactments.
5. Hurricane Sandy, and derivitavely, Christie's embrace of Obama.
6. Many other theories I am sure to have missed or forgotten.

After a long struggle with all the analysis and data, I have concluded that it came down to a very simple reality, the short-term self interest of voters known as the Tragedy of the Commons.

When a central power (the Federal government) can dragoon a very large percentage of the wealth of the country and then distribute it as it sees fit, it has created a common meadow of wealth in which needy sheep feed. Since need and not individual effort garners access to the meadow, the incentive is to take what you can as soon as possible, before it runs out or the rules change. The voters choose the president who promises to continue to provide free access to the meadow.