Damn

Several things--first, I'll admit error: I was WAY OFF in thinking Kerry would win comfortably. My bad.

At the same time, I'm curious as to why exit polls and actual results were so skewed. Also, I'm surprised that "record turnout" only amounted to about 12 million additional voters--yes, this is good; however, given the news reports about long lines, you'd think there would be even more. Now, admittedly, if the long lines were in "safe" states, they unfortunately don't matter.

Greg Palast once again is noting issues related to voter suppression, and there's nothing wrong with examining what he has to say.

Still, you've got to wonder about the 58 million or so Americans who voted for the candidate endorsed by Osama. As James Wolcott notes:

It was also a victory for Osama Bin Laden. I don't believe for a moment Bin Laden was trying to sway voters to Kerry with his taped address. This was the outcome he wanted, a gift from us to him: an unapologetic Christian Crusader in the White House whose reelection giving lie to the notion that Abu Ghraib was an aberration and that the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians weigh upon America's conscience. This morning America could not look more like a grinning aggressor to the Arab world, an aggressor with fresh marching orders.

Billmon is a bit stronger, citing a Hunter Thompson passage:

This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves; finally just lay back and say it -- that we are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.

Finally, I'm not yet ready to concede Ohio. Count the votes. If Bush carries it--fairly--then so be it. If the provisional and absentee ballots go to Kerry, then it's still a race.

Update: CNN reports that Kerry conceded. Goddamn.

Get ready for a real midieval time--youth of America, enjoy your draft. Workers of America--good luck with your job or lack thereof. Maybe you can join the military too (or get a well paying job as a truck driver in Iraq--but hey, don't get in over your head--pun intended). Hope everyone likes the People's Republic of China being Daddy Warbucks for us. Welcome to the era of the new Crusades...

I've got a headache.