Observations about the election ...

There are a number of things that I think can be said about the 2004 election at this point. These are not in a particular order of importance:

1. President George W. Bush was diplomatic and gracious in his not calling the election until John Kerry conceded. Yes, his operatives spoke, but he waited behind the scenes.

2. John Kerry was gallant and statesmanlike in conceding in the face of (admittedly overwhelming) evidence that there were no statistical chances that counting provisional ballots in Ohio (or any other state) would make any difference at all. Some may challenge me on this, but I think it is a point worth mentioning. After the 2000 election, the contentiousness of this campaign, and the "hordes" of attorneys poised to challenge any apparently questionable result or practice (not to mention the shrill threats and exhortations by the left-wing PACs and 527s), I think all of us can easily contemplate John Kerry or his advisers having made a different decision. I would submit that his conduct today is more "presidential" than anything he did during his entire campaign.

3. The Electoral College is a vibrant and necessary device in our representative democracy. One need only look at the vast swaths of red, versus the tiny corridors and isolated pockets of blue, to see that from a geographical perspective, the Electoral College affords states with smaller populations the sort of voice and participation that does make - and should make - presidential candidates stand up and take notice. The popular vote, as significant as it is, should not be enough to elect a president. Let's hear it for the "winner take all" arrangement.

4. Fox News is, far and away, the best news organization of any of the major networks. I watched from 7:00 p.m. last night until nearly 3:00 this morning, and I was impressed with the entire panel. Brit Hume is the best news anchor on television. Last night he was thorough, suitably prudent and realistic. He governed his panel with a light but firm hand. Bill Kristol, Juan William, Mort Kondracke and Fred Barnes offered a broad spectrum of insights into positions and possibilities and did so without sounding insulting, condescending, or as if they were in shock or denial! (And we thought it couldn't be done.) Their observations were equally insightful, complimentary to and critical of both President Bush and Senator Kerry. They debunked the "exit polls" before any of the other major networks did. And Michael Barone deserves an MVP award for keeping up with and tossing out more statistical information on precinct demographics and voting projections than I thought was humanly possible.

Fox did all of this for hours without compromising the integrity of the polls that had yet to close, superimposing their personal political views on the election, or casting aspersions on members of the electorate with whom they disagree.

In sum, Fox demonstrated itself to be worthy of its oft-maligned slogan, "Fair and Balanced." Never has it been more obvious that they report and we decide. Bravo to that entire team.

5. Much has been made of Bush now having a "mandate," having garned both an electoral majority and a majority of the popular vote. With all due respect to this president, I think that is an overstatement, understandable as it may be in the heady rush of victory. What I think this election gives President Bush is legitimacy in the eyes of many of his detractors. Finally. Make no mistake, this is no small accomplishment. Some claimed that despite the contested election in 2000, Bush got legitimacy after 9/11. But as people like George Soros, Michael Moore, ACT-UP, Moveon.org and others made abundantly clear, a significant and vocal segment of the American population continued to believe that his initial election was "stolen," and his presidency was illegitimate. As such, they felt free to make the claim that his tenure was an aberration which this election would demonstrate not only to the United States, but to the world. They can still moan and complain about 2000, but their arguments will have lost all of their persuasiveness (if not their fervor) after yesterday. They continue to maintain these specious claims at the expense of their credibility.

6. And this is probably a good place to insert my observations about the media elite, intellectuals, Hollowwood (oops, sorry - Hollywood) and the Democratic Party in general. I have said this before (in my last post for example), but this election makes the point undeniable and unmistakable: the Democratic Party has lost its base. If, even in an election as contentious as this one was, with an economic struggle and an unpopular war and a bitterly divided electorate, the Democrats lose seats in both houses of Congress as well as the Presidency, something is desperately wrong. Look at the results:

(a) The Democratic ticket with a contender for Vice President from North Carolina cannot even carry that state for the presidency. Not only that, but the Democratic senate seat he vacates is filled -- by a Republican.

(b) The State of Louisiana - as traditionally Democratic as they come - sends a Republican to the United States Senate for the first time in the state's history. And, he garners over 50% of the vote in a three-way content, eliminating even the need for a run-off.

(c) The incumbent United States Senate minority leader is defeated -- for the first time in decades.

There are a lot of reasons for this, but the number one reason is that the Democrats have completely abandoned even the thinnest pretense of morality. By way of example, everything is negotiable with the Democratic Party except for abortion. The Democrats are in thrall to NARAL and NOW, and have never seen a reason to kill babies that they don't like. Abortion? You bet. For any reason? Sure. For all 40 weeks? Yup. Even if elective? Of course. Partial-birth abortions included? Partial-birth abortions especially. If a child happens to survive an abortion, we want to allow doctors to let that child die - or even take affirmative steps to kill it outside the womb. And while we're at it, let's allow criminals to attack pregnant women, gravely wound or kill their unborn children, and allow them to walk away with less of a penalty than they would have gotten for killing a beloved pet or taking out a mailbox. Oh yes, and let's not forget - let's spend taxpayers money to create and clone new, genetically distinct human beings and destroy them to harvest their tissues.

I could go on, but you get the idea. For the overwhelming majority of Americans, these are at best, issues fraught with deep emotional conflict and profound reservation, and at worst, grave evils. And science - that bastion of Democratic rationalism - rather than weakening the moralists' arguments, is only strengthening them, as ultrasound enables people to see unborn children in the womb, as viability is pushed to earlier and earlier stages of pregnancy, as fetal surgery offers hope in more and more cases of disabilities, as we learn more about the perils of cloning, and the genetic makeup of each human being.

And this is not even mentioning the issue of gay marriage, which brought so many voters to the polls yesterday.

Democrats ignore, deny and belittle the seriousness of these issues at their peril. And their ignorance (deliberate or negligent) is further proof of their staggering arrogance and detachment from reality.

This morning, I listened to Andy Cohut on NPR describe the Democrats' surprise upon discovering that, "moral issues were the sleeper issues of this campaign." I heard that comment with stunned amazement. If the Democrats thought that moral issues were sleepers, then they were absolutely not listening.

This, however, is not altogether surprising. Because guess what, middle America? Democrat higher-ups are not listening to you; they are listening to each other. When one examines Karl Zinsmeister's and Tom Wolfe's recent essays, it is abundantly clear that Democrats have become the party of entertainment and media elites who have long since ceased to believe that the rules of polite society or the tenets of stable families apply to them. And although it is bad enough that they conduct themselves with this sort of amoral abandon, this is made worse by the fact that that have the audacity to preach to the rest of us, and treat us like knuckle-dragging cretins for daring (duhhhhh) to think differently.

The Democratic Party has lost the South. For good. And although there are still pockets of loyalty in the Rust-Belt midwest, these are tied largely to labor. And as Reagan proved, labor votes also have core values to which Republicans, increasingly, can appeal. The South has fallen; Labor will be next.

And after that, I predict, the African-American vote. Forty years of blaming the "rich," insulting black potential, and snatch-and-grab tax policies with no accountability are starting to take their toll. Manifestly bad government schools in inner cities further weaken Dem's hold on black voters. And some commentators are saying that Democratic support for gay marriage will be the straw that breaks the camel's back here. I suspect that this is a ways away. But stranger things have happened. And as yesterday also proved, Democrats can no longer either count on African-American support, or win even when they have it.

7. Bravo, bravo, bravo to the American public. For coming out. For staying out. For speaking out. For the biggest voter turnout in years. Perhaps ever. Early, late, in the dark, in the rain. For voting quietly, calmly, without violence, vandalism (for the most part) or lawyers!

8. And a big raspberry to those members of the "international community" who thought they could influence our election by insulting us (the Guardian) or threatening us (OBL). We stick our collective tongues out at you. We offer a few other succinct gestures, as well.

We have much -- MUCH -- to be proud of here. And now, much work to do. Let's do it.;