 2004 Presidential Election
Electoral-vote.com: "Well, it's all over. The people have spoken. Winston Churchill once said: 'In a Democracy, people get the kind of government they deserve.' So be it."
Mike Littwin looks back on Tuesday's election in his column in today's Rocky Mountain News [November 4, 2004, "Littwin: Win, lose - and draw conclusions"]. He writes, "On the red-blue map, there are hardly any places left for the Democrats to go. They have no choice but to mount a Mountain West strategy in 2008 - in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. If you want to point out the Democrats lost all four states in 2004, go ahead. It won't matter. We were a battleground state this time. The fight - and the fighting words - will definitely be back."
The Rocky Mountain News has an article on the President's speech yesterday [November 4, 2004, "Bush starts planning second term"]. From the article, "He pledged to keep up the fight against terrorism, press for stable democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan, simplify the tax code, allow younger workers to invest some of their Social Security withholdings in the stock market, continue to raise accountability standards in public schools and 'uphold our deepest values and family and faith.' Other items include reforms to the nation's intelligence community, halving the record $413 billion deficit, expanding health care coverage, a constitutional ban on gay marriage and moving 'this goodhearted nation toward a culture of life.'" Mr. President, nearly half the voters voted against you because of some of those issues. Just a reminder - there is no mandate from 51%..
Update: Another Liberal Blog analyzes the "Broad nationwide" victory the President mentioned yesterday: Assuming Bush gets New Mexico and Iowa, he will have gotten the lowest percentage of electoral votes (54%) of any incumbent running for reelection since Wilson. If those two states should swing Kerry's way (NM might), it'll be even lower; He will have won with the lowest percentage of the popular vote (51%) of any incumbent running for reelection since Truman (well, technically since Clinton, but he also ran against Perot, who was a more significant 3rd-party candidate than Thurmond and Wallace were in '48); He will have won by the lowest margin of the popular vote (3.5M) of any incumbent running for reelection since Truman (2.1M, and back then only 50M voted).
He will have won the three states that put him over 270 (OH, NM and IA--assuming the last two go his way) by only 161,989 (not counting the provisional ballots, absentee, etc.)."
Meanwhile the President is quoted as saying, "I'll reach out to everyone who shares our goals." Uhmm...well that's about 51%, Mr. President..
Update: We actually live in Purple States.
Update: MakesMeRalph: "You stole my country and you turned it into something I'm not proud of...Get out of Iraq. Pay your fair share. Treat all Americans with respect. Get government out of my life. Then offer me an olive branch, you hate-filled, profit-taking warmonger." Ouch.
Update: Here's a new map of North America that's funny but over the line. Warning: The map is critical of the President's base.
Update: Jeralyn Merritt, writing on the 5280 Weblog says, "Colorado as a whole was not kind to John Kerry on Election Day. With 2,928 of 3,086 precincts reporting, President Bush garnered 52.45 percent of Colorado[base ']s votes to John Kerry's 46.35 percent. But, take a look at Boulder, Denver, and Pitkin Counties: In Boulder, John Kerry earned a whopping 70 percent of the vote to George Bush's 29 percent. In Denver and Pitkin (home to Aspen), Kerry got 69 percent of the vote."
Update: Josh Marshall: "It may have provided Bush with the crucial turnout boost on the right that allowed him to remain in office."
Update: Andrew Sullivan: "Even this president has now broken with his social conservative base and endorsed civil unions for gay couples."
Update: Micah Sifry: "Whether you're a Democrat in mourning or a Republican in glee, the results from election day should not obscure an important shift in America's civic life. New tools and practices born on the Internet have reached critical mass, enabling ordinary people to participate in processes that used to be closed to them. It may seem like cold comfort for Kerry supporters now, but the truth is that voters don't have to rely on elected or self-appointed leaders to chart the way forward anymore. The era of top-down politics--where campaigns, institutions and journalism were cloistered communities powered by hard-to-amass capital--is over. Something wilder, more engaging and infinitely more satisfying to individual participants is arising alongside the old order."
6:50:40 AM 
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