Once in the Voting Booth

Billmon has a great CNN poll up showing that those of us who saw the Repubs holding on by hook or crook (mostly crook) last Tuesday weren't completely stupid and cynical (not completely). The dark-side inhabitants were actually gaining on the Dems among the voters who decided their votes in last 3-7 days before the election. These were clearly the polls that Rovev bragged about seeing, presaging his confidence. But for whatever reason--gay ministers, Michael J. Fox and Oxy-Man, Bushnev actually out campaigning, the phase of the moon--on election day, the ones who waited until then to make up their minds ended up breaking for the Dems, which theory always predicts but sure as hell didn't happen in 2004.

As Billmon notes, HOW THE HELL COULD PEOPLE WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE AFTER ALL THE CRAP THAT'S HAPPENED TO THIS COUNTRY??????, but we're not here to be petty or ungrateful for small favors. But, as he says, it also shows that this country's future hinged on those idi . . . citizens and could have gone the other way had, say, Britney announced her divorce earlier and gotten their attention distracted. The Dems have a lot to do to solidify the effort, and should have opportunities just to play the straight "responsible grown-up cleaning up the mess" gig, especially if they dig into all the private corporate corruption of the last 6 years, that will point the finger at the Busheviks as well but without getting into the "partisan" battle as much. But we were closer, folks, to an election that could have well earned the pessimism some of us felt, based on these voters' past behavior, than the final results indicated, and we're not out of the woods yet. (I'm not letting my mistaken prediction off the hook, I promise. There's more crow waiting in the oven.)

Still, let's enjoy it and support whatever reforms come. We got a reprieve that could, but hasn't yet, turn into a salvation. Maybe the Dems will figure out in the next couple of years how to convince those ninnies well before it comes to the actual push of the voting button.