The mood was somber at a small gathering of Los Angeles-area McCain supporters at the Burbank Holiday Inn Media Center where members of the Buck and Ballot Brigade and other local Republicans watched as Sen. Barack Obama was elected the next President of the United States.

The Buck and Ballot Brigade is a GOP-chartered political action committee that raises money for the 43rd Assembly and seeks to encourage high voter turnout among Republicans. Members of the Brigade spent countless hours during the last several months calling potential voters to promote the ideas of John McCain and the Republican party.

‘The aura around this candidate, Barack Obama, proved something that was hard to circumvent, no matter who you are,’ said Republican State Assembly candidate Jane Barnett at the reception. ‘We go forward and we work hard.’

Some quietly watching the election results condemned the way the campaign was handled by McCain strategists, expressing regret for the pointed attack ads aired against Obama.

‘The mistake the national party guys made is that they focused on the idea that the other guy is a dirty dog. That’s not what people want to hear today. That ‘dirty dog’ ad may have worked in the 1980s, but it is a different world today,’ said Glen Forsch, Buck and Ballot Brigade president.

Other local Republicans were more outspoken in their disappointment with Obama’s win.

‘Sit back and let Obama fail at everything and then we’ll do something. I just don’t think the Republican Party galvanized as well as in previous years,’ said realtor Robert W. Ziegenbein, who voted for McCain.

Regardless of the many emotional responses, Los Angeles-area Republicans said the party must not rest on its laurels. Members of the Buck and Ballot Brigade plan to begin working toward promoting their ideals, building steam for the coming gubernatorial election, and to continue to represent the GOP in a state that voted decidedly Democrat once again.