Election Post-Mortem
Michael’s prediction was wrong. Kerry didn’t beat the spread, after all. My predictions were mostly right, even down to the point of knowing the outcome of 47 states last night. OK, so maybe we knew the outcomes of all 50, but the networks and the Kedwards campaign didn’t, so that’s all that matters. I was wrong about both 60 and 62 passing, however. The actual outcome was a bit more sensible, with 60 passing 67.3% to 32.7%, and 62 failing 45.7% to 54.3%. Still, that means 21.6% of the electorate are complete idiots. If only we could disenfranchise them, President Bush might well have carried the state.
Regarding the national election, I’d urge all conservatives to resist the temptation to gloat. I know it feels good to do it, but it’s bad form. If you have a liberal friend or coworker who is down in the dumps, don’t kick him when he’s down or get in his face saying “nyah, nyah.” Be a compassionate conservative, and send him a sympathy card, instead.
Kerry’s career is done, and Edwards’s may well be, also. I think it’s about time to retire at least one John, if not both, to the political graveyard. Fortunately, some guy in Montreal saw this coming and prepared his headstone in advance. The headstone reads:
John:
Free your body and soul
Unfold your powerful wings
Climb up the highest mountains
Kick your feet up in the air
You may now live forever
Or return to this earth
Unless you feel good where you are!Missed by your friends
November 3rd, 2004 at 11:12 am
Well, Kerry beat my spread. I can’t account for the screwy exit polls! Thanks for the link.
November 3rd, 2004 at 11:44 am
Post-Voting Reflections
For your reading pleasure, a few other blogger’s reactions, which are way more eloquent than anything I could string together today.
Tiffany captures the feelings I have about the election perfectly. A tease to induce you to go read the whole th…
November 3rd, 2004 at 12:54 pm
Better tell the Clam. I think his posts on my blog could fairly be characterized as gloating.
November 3rd, 2004 at 1:07 pm
Let’s Get This Straight Here And Now…
I’m pretty much taking the day off. I got exactly one hour of sleep last night, and I don’t feel like any thoughtful analysis or recaps.
But I would like to get this off my plate.
See, I’ve seen a lot of Democratic voters angrily crying out th…
November 3rd, 2004 at 3:19 pm
I love the sympathy card idea.
Anyway, I watched the Kerry concession speech in the presence of, literally, fifty crying leftists at the law school. A few of us were making jokes, such as betting on whether Kerry mentioned Vietnam (he did, obliquely) or was still wearing the Lance Armstrong bracelet (he wasn’t, as far as we could see).
One of the sobbing women demanded that I “be a little more humble.” To which I reminded her that just yesterday she was very much in my face with exit polling data, and would still be so were to positions reversed, and that Americans roundly rejected her and her beliefs.
Schadenfreude.
November 3rd, 2004 at 8:46 pm
Schadenfreude ist die schönste Freude.
November 3rd, 2004 at 9:24 pm
Schadenfreude ist die sch
November 4th, 2004 at 1:02 pm
The Left came unglued before our very eyes, much like Dan Rather on election night as states blipped red on the screen. Poor bastard. I’m sending him a pair of pjs.
November 4th, 2004 at 2:48 pm
If we can’t gloat, what is the point of winning???
Seriously, neo-cons should gloat. The more we gloat, the more the libs will be demoralized and less likely to vote against us. They need to know that we are right (in many ways) and that they cannot stop us from reshaping our country through the Evangelical vision.
November 4th, 2004 at 3:46 pm
After 9/11, I became convinced that Bush would sail to a re-election landslide. I’m disappointed that Kerry lost. But if a year ago anyone had tried to convince me that more than 55 million people would vote against Bush I would have said they were smoking something. I had expected Bush to win a Reagan-type landslide. At my age, it doesn’t bother me if people gloat. A victory is a victory. I’ve seen so many elections cycles of wins and losses that I see it as just part of life. In 1964 the question asked was whether the Republican party could survive. Then in 1968, Nixon, defeated even for governor of California, returns to life.
The main thing about prolonged gloating is that if you do it with strangers, it’s one thing. Do it for too long with personal friends and you can expect to have to look for some new friends. I remember when Bill Clinton won in 1992, one of my Republican friends called me and yelled that he hoped I was happy that a flag-burning traitor had been elected president. I think I told him something like “John Wayne Gacy would make a better president than Bush.” Our feud lasted about two weeks.
Obama in ‘08!
November 5th, 2004 at 8:19 am
First of all, I couldn’t be friends with someone who voted for Kerry. It’s like trying to speak to someone who doesn’t speak English–we couldn’t communicate.
My point about gloating is this: many Americans behave like sheep (which is why they voted for Kerry in the first place). If the conservatives gloat it will demoralize them. They will be afraid to step into the ring the next time around.
And I probably shouldn’t be saying this but…please, I know you are desperate, but stop with the Obama bs. He is a child and will be eaten alive in the Senate. Do you really think he can beat McCain/Jeb Bush. Not a chance. So–bring him on!
November 5th, 2004 at 8:22 am
Larry,
How sad for you that you would so limit your friendships.
November 5th, 2004 at 1:05 pm
Our congregation has over a thousand people–I’ve got more friedns than I can actually keep up with.
November 5th, 2004 at 2:00 pm
I have to agree with Joel on this one. I’d rather have 5 close friends who think I’m full of crap and aren’t afraid to tell me why, than 1,000 who agree with me about everything.
November 6th, 2004 at 9:08 am
“many Americans behave like sheep (which is why they voted for Kerry in the first place).”
Funny, that’s the way I see you people. See how it works?
I wouldn’t gloat over a 136,000 vote win, since we don’t give a damn about the popular vote. Especially when the despoiled ballots add up to most of that figure. Watch the final count in Ohio. It’s a narrow win, but a win is a win. It’s the policies that matter and they are ass backwards in my view. We will see since bad news on the ground has done little to convince half of the country to date. A little more rope will. Prepare for the noose to tighten.