When we are afraid to simply request an open accounting of our votes, and find excuses for not demanding this basic right, we delude ourselves. We are fools to imagine that things will sort themselves out even if our votes are not counted, and that we must wait patiently and not protest even as we see our civils rights eroded, one by one. History tells us otherwise.

We lost the 2000 election because we were too clever, too immersed in short-term strategies, to simply stand up for what we knew was right. We were timid, looking for the path of least resistance. We ended up losing our bearings and much else besides.  Never again.

To answer your reasonable questions:

John Kerry should have kept his promise to "make every vote count."  It's as simple as that.  I believed that promise and I voted for him. I'm disappointed. He could have waited a few days.  What was the urgent matter that took priority over assuring the integrity of the vote?

Frankly, John Kerry is the one who needed to be told, "We need to be smart about this, not reckless."

And what now, that he's made a bad decision and backed himself into a corner? Well, why not simply show some integrity and backbone?  Above all, he ought to show us that he cares more about defending our basic right to vote than he cares about his own political career.

How he chooses to demonstrate that is up to him.  If he is indeed a leader who deserves our respect, he'll find a way.

First, I don't think he has much to loose. If he presents it as just wanting to be diligent. When he's got all the fact he can get. He could just come out and state that there are too many incoherences in this vote. The new Mexico turnout, the Ohio 4000 votes for Bush, the extreme and systematic discrepancy with exit polls, the Florida Republicans willingness to go against the board of election's cheaper and safer recommendation, the Diebold CEO statement, the Florida technical glitches, the voter suppression, etc. This deserves looking into. He should say that if these are just isolated incidents and coincidences, he'll accept it gladly and go back home.

But to come out like this, you need the most facts you can get. And the best thing is also to not give too much of a notice for the republicans to prepare. (Although I'm quite sure they have a defense in place. Guilty or not.)

I have got to believe that Kerry the prosecutor is looking into this. For god's sake, he's the guy who kept looking into BCCI despite many colleagues telling him that he was going against too many powerful interests and that it was bad for his Senate career.

Finally, one last thing. I find the Kerry team's discipline at keeping collective silence on the topic somewhat eerie. I would think that if they had really thrown the towel, there would have been more noise on this... Even at a meetup I went in Evanston, last night. One guy started mentioning the Fraud word, and the organizers smoothly changed the topic. Maybe it's just a collective desire to move forward. Or maybe it's just the troops all knowing that they should taunt the enemy just before battle...

Finally, on a personal note. I would feel just outstanding if Kerry came out swinging.