Wow, I’m surprised I’m so annoyed that Bush won…
Some thoughts:
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I think Bush will be better for Iraq (if not for anything else)–maybe Kerry would have done a better job of invading and stabilising Iraq in the first place, but at least Bush doesn’t have the excuse that he can’t fix it because the previous guy broke it. (Though in the public-opinion-driven world of international politics Kerry would have had the advantage that he’s “not Bush,” so who knows…)
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Kerry losing the popular vote (by approx. 3%?) is no big deal. The rules say you win if you win the electoral vote, so of course he’s not going to focus on winning the electoral vote and not the popular vote. If it was the popular vote that counted, the difference would have been less.
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Daschle got beat in South Dakota? Wow.
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William Saletan reckons that next time, the Democrats need to nominate someone more like Bush. (That is, someone folksy, simple, and straight-forward, like Edwards.) The thinking behind this seems to be: some other guy won; for us to win we need to be like that guy, but better–that is, an uber-Bush. This seems misguided, even if he’s only talking about personal qualities, not political views. (Er, I’m not suggesting that Hillary would make a good candidate.)
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What’s the deal with those exit polls??