Game, Set, Match
NBC has called Ohio for Bush. Barring any major weirdness or (ugh) lawsuits, Dubya's the Prez once again. Popular vote goes to Bush too, it seems. Mandate.
C-SPAN's big map has Ohio getting closer, but the margin is still at about 100,000 votes. However, this isn't quite over, for 2 reasons:
1) It can still end in a tie, in which case the House would elect Bush.
2) There are a lot of lawsuits out there, especially in Ohio. It remains to be seen if the number of disputed or provisional votes will be enough to make up the difference between Bush and Kerry there or anywhere else. If it is clear that they will not make up the difference, then the lawsuits will fizzle. If they can, we're going to be in for a rough time for the next few weeks or more.
Some observations:
1) The youth vote never materialized. Despite the remarkably high turnout, the same proportion of 18-25 year olds voted this year as in 2000. This actually means that more young people turned out, but not proportionally more than every other group, as was expected.
2) The Silent Majority came back, and won this election. Exit polling showed a big issue for voters was morality. Gay marriage, etc. In fact, a bunch of states voted to outlaw gay marriage and restrict civil unions. That disturbs me. Republicans don't bother me so much, but social conservatives and Christian fundamentalists do. But, they live here too, and have the same right to vote as everyone else. Shit.
3) The Dems are a mess. Total shambles. If they can't beat this guy, they can't beat ANYONE (fuck, they couldn't even get my vote, and I'm certainly not Joe Homophobe from Nebraska). I really hope this defeat serves as a wake-up call, and the next time they trot out a candidate who is at least marginally worth voting for, and whose best attribute is more than just being a serious-looking anti-incumbent.
4) To all of the extremely disappointed Kerry supporters: Chill. The country isn't going to fall apart. Find ways to let go of your hatred for the other side; they outnumber you, and not all of them are as dumb as you think. Try having a civil discussion with a Bush voter, you might learn something interesting about them that's not as abhorrent or evil as you expected.
That's all for me, I'm out!
UPDATE It may not be over! Kerry's not conceding, and Ohio inches closer with a bunch of votes left to count. But, Kerry still needs to win all the remaining states to pull out a victory. Should be interesting...tomorrow, as I am going to bed.
C-SPAN's big map has Ohio getting closer, but the margin is still at about 100,000 votes. However, this isn't quite over, for 2 reasons:
1) It can still end in a tie, in which case the House would elect Bush.
2) There are a lot of lawsuits out there, especially in Ohio. It remains to be seen if the number of disputed or provisional votes will be enough to make up the difference between Bush and Kerry there or anywhere else. If it is clear that they will not make up the difference, then the lawsuits will fizzle. If they can, we're going to be in for a rough time for the next few weeks or more.
Some observations:
1) The youth vote never materialized. Despite the remarkably high turnout, the same proportion of 18-25 year olds voted this year as in 2000. This actually means that more young people turned out, but not proportionally more than every other group, as was expected.
2) The Silent Majority came back, and won this election. Exit polling showed a big issue for voters was morality. Gay marriage, etc. In fact, a bunch of states voted to outlaw gay marriage and restrict civil unions. That disturbs me. Republicans don't bother me so much, but social conservatives and Christian fundamentalists do. But, they live here too, and have the same right to vote as everyone else. Shit.
3) The Dems are a mess. Total shambles. If they can't beat this guy, they can't beat ANYONE (fuck, they couldn't even get my vote, and I'm certainly not Joe Homophobe from Nebraska). I really hope this defeat serves as a wake-up call, and the next time they trot out a candidate who is at least marginally worth voting for, and whose best attribute is more than just being a serious-looking anti-incumbent.
4) To all of the extremely disappointed Kerry supporters: Chill. The country isn't going to fall apart. Find ways to let go of your hatred for the other side; they outnumber you, and not all of them are as dumb as you think. Try having a civil discussion with a Bush voter, you might learn something interesting about them that's not as abhorrent or evil as you expected.
That's all for me, I'm out!
UPDATE It may not be over! Kerry's not conceding, and Ohio inches closer with a bunch of votes left to count. But, Kerry still needs to win all the remaining states to pull out a victory. Should be interesting...tomorrow, as I am going to bed.