Yet another in a long series of disappointments. Technically, the election isn't over, though. From the trend I see, I would be extremely surprised if Kerry won. And the popular vote makes clear that Bush is preferred. Maybe not by a landslide, but by a very comfortable margin. I really don't get it. Somehow the Democrats screwed up. And they screwed up something that was almost a sure thing. The President is obviously incompetent, the economy is poor, the debates were a victory for Democrats. But it all didn't matter somehow.
What amazes me is how wrong everything was. The youth turnout was supposed to be huge. Everyone reported it. Evidently, it didn't happen. The undecideds were supposed to break for the challenger, but this time they broke for the incumbent. It was supposed to be at least a close race, and it really wasn't. I'm not sure what to think of all this. I'd love to see an analysis of how we lost so badly.
So the country continues its conservative trend. I thought it would rebound a bit from 2002, but boy was I wrong. I'm not sure what the Democrats could possibly do to combat this.
The only upside: now Bush has to clean up his own mess in Iraq. It will be amusing to see him fail.
Posted by ahyatt at November 3, 2004 03:50 AMSorry your candidate didn't win. I know how much you hate Bush and wanted a change. As always, your writing is interesting, well thought out, and well written (except for the title, of course, which I know is meant for emphasis and to show your anger at the results. After all, I am a mother who still cringes at bad language!)I guess you'll be drinking a lot of beer now!
Posted by: Mom on November 3, 2004 06:52 AMIt's over. Kerry called Bush to concede..
Posted by: Brian on November 3, 2004 09:09 AMThere is a very good article on Ohio:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB109958464790664884,00.html?mod=campaign2004%5F1
Let me know if you need a login, I can foward the article.
Basically, the Dems met or exceeded all their goals in Ohio, but the GOP worked it in the suburban communities... a lot had to do with gay rights issues on the ballots, which got a lot of Bush supporters, uh, out of their conservative closets.
Ultimately, I think the GOP campaign machinery (c/o Mr. Rove) is simply better at execution than the Dems.
It used to be that the GOP represented the rich bankers and the Dems represented the rural southern people & the workers.
Now, you have the GOP stealing the shirts off the backs of the rural workers, giving it to the rich bankers, and both groups of people are happy with the situation!
Ultimately, a presidential candidate is just another product that is marketed and sold. Developing the message and delivering it well are very difficult tasks (as we have seen with Intraspect), and execution counts for quite a bit.
-Tash
Posted by: David Tashima on November 5, 2004 06:43 PM