In looking at the election day results, it appears that Sen. Kerry has been relegated to the historical scrap heap. Personally, I'm disappointed, but at least several million Americans went out and voted. That's an important statement to the entire world. There were no locust sightings or riots, the polls apparently allowed all those who were in line when the polls were scheduled to close to vote, even if it took several more hours. (I believe that is the law in most states, actually, so the law seems to have been upheld.)
In my unscientific analysis of what went on, at this moment I think the biggest reason for the Bush victory was the presence of several anti-gay marriage initiatives on ballots -- most importantly the one in Ohio. Had that initiative not been there, perhaps Sen. Kerry would have taken the state. I don't know. I thought the fact of thousands of jobs lost in the state would have been more important to Ohioans than whether a couple of men or a couple of women who are already living together can have the right to help each other when they're trying to get their estates in order, for example. I don't know.
What I do know is that President Bush now has a mandate. He received a majority of the votes and he has two houses of Congress that hail from the same party. But hopefully progressive, populist thinkers will arise from this era of secrecy and mistrust and there'll be a candidate for president in 2008 that will honor the ideals upon which the nation was formed. That's my opinion, anyway.
3 comments:
I don't doubt Hillary will run, but if Kerry couldn't carry a single southern state, I don't see how a more liberal, more widely despised former first lady will fare any better in a south that will only have four more years of conservative doctrine. She's not the answer.
As for European politics, my knowledge is woefully meager. But I expect Bush will stay out of it as much as possible. He's a "state's rights" kind of guy, so he'll go on talking with the heads of state that he feels comfortable with. My view of international politics is that conservative and liberal matter less than personalities. Tony Blair's gotten along with the moderate Clinton and the conservative Bush, for example.
Sen. Clinton (Hillary) has said she will have her husband Bill be her campaign manager for 2008 ... certainly he knows something about winning over the "Jesusland" states, twice ... the other issue will be a woman president, but in these post-Margaret Thatcher times, that is less of a glass ceiling than ever ... voters want to hear reflections of their own values and concerns, not the almighty "I will bring a new America" rhetoric ...
I hadn't read about Bill being her campaign manager. He's got the campaign knowhow, obviously. It'll be interesting to see how that develops. Thanks for the comment.
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