A few early observations about Tuesday’s election:
–Despite the uncertain result in Ohio, it looks like Bush has won– this time fairly and squarely, with a clear (but hardly overwhelming) majority of the popular vote. No blaming Nader this year.
–It’s remarkable how little the voting patterns changed since 2000. Once again the Republican candidate dominated in rural areas, the South and the middle of the country. The Democrat won in urban areas, the Northeast, the Upper Midwest and the West Coast.
–The much-vaunted “youth vote” went for Kerry, but it wasn’t much of a vote. Despite “Rock the Vote,” “Vote or Die,” etc., only about one in ten of 18-to-24-year-olds went to the polls.
–To state the obvious, politics is an ongoing process. It doesn’t end with one election or the next. We live to fight another day. Nobody has the right (or the luxury) to sink into despair or smugness.
–I wish Kerry had won. But if he had, I wouldn’t gloat and I wouldn’t envy him one bit. And I don’t envy Bush. Things are too damn serious.
Update: Kerry has now formally conceded defeat.
