Keep your head up, everyone.

I am not surprised to read that Kerry has conceded.  Most people do indeed just want this election to be over with.  It's been exhausting.

I don't feel bad, I'm not angry and I have no plans to move to Canada. I really think the world of John Kerry both as a candidate and as a person, for what it's worth.  I hope he stays in the Senate for a long time - we need him, and somebody is going to have to stand up for the Iraq vets.  I guess now that he won't be behind the White House bubble, perhaps I'll actually get to meet the guy some day.  I'm very, very proud that we had him as our candidate this year.  He handled all they threw at him with class and grace, fought hard, and never gave up.  He made a fool of Bush in the debates and even his political opponents have to respect him for that.  The last Gallup polls had him equal with Bush on the ability to handle Iraq, and closing fast on the ability to fight the war on terror.  We're getting our security cred back, and that's not nothing.

There are some things I'd like to know..

Who was motivated to get out and vote for George W Bush?  It seems there were a wave of Republican voters that nobody saw coming, not even the exit pollers.  Midway through yesterday afternoon I had a sinking feeling as Zogby predicted a big win for us despite a loss in the popular vote, even as folks around here from red and rural precincts as well as deeply red states were reporting long lines and huge turnout.

The answer is that yes, some people were that motivated to reelect a guy.  And if that's the case, I'm not inclined to turn on our own party and candidate and start spreading the blame around - frankly I'm feeling somewhat amazed the damage wasn't greater than it was.  

I'm thinking of the data showing a fairly high percentage of Bush voters to have factually incorrect ideas about WMD in Iraq, Iraq-Al Qaeda links, and the like.  Not to mention those who are part of Rove's famous 4 million evangelicals - some of whom believe W was chosen by God to lead the nation.  And finally, there is the residual effect of whatever bond some folks have with W after 9/11, bizarre as I find it, I think it's still there.

Something, after all, kept W from ever being far from a tie in the opinion polls during the runup to the election, no matter how many facts proving his incompetence came to light along the way. (This is another reason why I had a nervous feeling all along, wondering who would show up at the polls and what surprise was in store, because those voters wouldn't have to tip far W's way for him to pull it off.) Nothing sticks to him.  Could we have helped that? I simply don't know, and can think of few greater challenges than convincing a person to change his or her mind when that person is simultaneously covering their ears and eyes.  

The bad news is that there were more of them than there were of the members of the reality-based community.  The good news is that there will be a hell of a fight coming in the GOP because that sort of support isn't readily transferable to anyone else unless, I suppose, Jesus himself shows up to run in 08.  It's simply not sustainable through another election cycle and I think we've got to get ourselves some fresh, positive ideas, work on framing the debate, and hold our heads up high and be proud of fighting as hard as we did in this election.  These people came out to vote in force for W, even in the safely red states, and it was our bad luck to have had to fight the Senate races there.  

Like I said, I don't know who voted for Bush but if I'm right, given the electorate I wonder what we could have done better. And as for Bush himself.. he wanted Iraq, he's got it. Pottery Barn rule, people. Let him try to clean up his own messes, at home and abroad. There will be scandals coming down the pike, scandals of the kind started by federal investigators, not coming from partisans.  (Plame, Halliburton, the trumped-up case for war.)

Keep your head up, all.  I mean it.  We're building infrastructure, raising money, and we had one tough Democrat running this year who certainly gave a serious scare to everyone on the other side, who were deeply afraid that W could lose as recently as yesterday afternoon.  On to 2006.

Let us cultivate our garden..