Kerry concedes, Bush wins, the next four years begins:
- Kerry's decision was relayed to NBC News by a senior adviser, who said the senator had phoned Bush to concede and would make a concession speech at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
According to two officials familiar with the situation interviewed by the Associated Press, Kerry ended his quest shortly after 11 a.m. ET, concluding one of the most expensive and bitterly contested races on record, with a call to the president.
"Congratulations, Mr. President," Kerry said in the conversation described by sources as lasting less than five minutes. One of the sources was Republican, the other a Democrat.
The Democratic source said Bush called Kerry a worthy, tough and honorable opponent. Kerry told Bush the country was too divided, the source said, and Bush agreed. “We really have to do something about it,” Kerry said according to the Democratic official. [MSNBC]
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - boomcrashbaby
I' m glad Bush agrees the nation is too polarized, and I hope he has the balls and grace to do something about it.
Seeing as how it looks like Bush won his reelection by demonizing a minority group, and seeing how his attitude towards the rest of the world is 'you're either with us, or fuck you', I'm quite sure he will do all he can to heal the polarization. After all, polarizing this country has only hurt him so far.........
2 - Distorted Angel
Eric, Bush has had four years to do something about the polarization of our country, and we're worse off now in that regard than we were in 2000. You're almost as optimistic as those of us who were hoping for a Kerry win last night...
3 - SFC SKI
I am glad that Sen. Kerry was gracious in his concession, hopefully it will help set the tone for the coming years. As a moderate, hopefully the GOP won't see this as a mandate to do what they want to do, but politicians on both sides are not ones to gain a lot of my trust.
4 - urthshu
I believe it is more incumbent upon Kerry and the Democrats to do the heavy lifting for healing the rifts. They accurately judged that the nation was polarized and purposely rubbed salt into that as a campaign tactic. They were opposition- but not loyal and it cost them the election.
If Kerry would have repudiated the far Left, in a 'Sistah Souljah moment', he could have gotten more Southern votes. Instead, the Democrats continually berate their formerly solid bastions in the South as- quotes here- "idiots", "morons", "illiterate, inbred rednecks", etc. Southerners have long memories and make up a full quarter of the nation- how can they claim to represent the US when they can't be inclusive of, and civil to, the South?
The South is also one the fastest-growing areas of the economy & thus population growth. To treat them this way is unconscionable for a national party.
Look at the results there: They lost all electoral votes, yes. In the senate & house races- especially Louisiana- they lost areas to Republicans that were never Republican. Its only going to get worse until they learn from it.
5 - Gee Dubs
Now why did you guys have to bring up the polarization issue? Aren't two poles enough for you guys?
G.W.
6 - Mark Saleski
i'm also glad that the republicans have taken control of the senate as well.
they not only have the power to shoot themselves in the foot, but also to blow off their whole fricken leg.
awesome.
7 - SFC SKI
All true, it will be interesting to see if the President and Congress will address domestic issues, and how soon. Though I agree that the fight for national security against terrists should be the top priority, I am sure that Americans will not accept the "we're at war" argument for another 4 years. The 2006 elections will definitely be interesting as well.
8 - NC
There are two things he might do that I can think of. First, he might appoint a Democrat to a cabinet position. David Frum has talked about this in the past and I think it's a fine idea. Replacing Tom Ridge and/or Tommy Thompson with Joe Lieberman, say, would be perfectly acceptable to many Republicans. Second, he might name a moderate to the Supreme Court. This is contingent upon there being multiple vacancies over the next four years since of course he's also going to want to name at least one hardliner to appease his conservative base. It'd be nice if O'Connor and Rehnquist announced their retirements around the same time so that Bush could send a moderate/hardliner tandem to the Hill as a package deal.
Short of that, what would you propose he do? Surely I don't need to tell the administrator of Blogcritics how grotesque the Bush-hatred in this country has become, which makes me wonder whether there's anything he can do at all. I'll point you (once again) to this website, to the box office returns for Fahrenheit 9/11, and to the Nicholson Baker book about assassination; asking Bush to make nice with this crowd is not unlike asking Lincoln to heal the rift with John Wilkes Booth. Maybe if he pulled out of Iraq, lost his accent, renounced his faith, and swore on a stack of Bibles that no, in fact, he's really not a fascist, then there might be some chance of reconciliation. Maybe.
I'm off to read the European and Arab newspapers and bathe in a warm pool of ambrosian schadenfreude. Thanks to you and all the other centrist/leftist voters, Eric, who not only resisted the Bush = Hitler psychosis but actually bit the bullet and crossed party lines on this one. That can't have been easy, even though I think the choice between these two particular candidates ultimately was a pretty easy one. In any case, well done.
9 - Eric Olsen
thanks NC, some very important points and I hope you are right about the SCOTUS and the cabinet. My main wish at this point is that Bush values his place in history as much as he valued winning this election, which was impressively ferocious.
10 - Dawn
Having Bush win and our country slowly becoming a republican land of "moral values" is equal in my heart to just finding out a loved one has died.
In fact, I wish I would just die.
This is worst day of my life.
11 - Natalie Davis
Welcome to the theocracy. Welcome to Hell.
12 - Matt
Get off the ledge Dawn!!!!! We'll get through this!
13 - NC
Yes, I think we all mourn the decline of amorality. Soon now the harvesting of uteruses will begin, and perhaps the purging by fire of homosexuals. Either that or civil unions. Same difference, right? But by all means, continue with the hysteria: the shriller you guys get, the more center-left voters like Eric you push into our column. 51% and rising, baby!
I think the most interesting thing now will be to see how the left reacts to their defeat. Will they do the smart thing and move towards the center by becoming more hawkish on foreign policy? Or will they let their paranoia get the best of them and follow the Howard Dean/Daily Kos crowd toward the fringe and off a fucking cliff. I know how I'm betting. 60% in 2008!
14 - Natalie Davis
Goodness.
I say we let the Repugs have this hellhole of a mendacious nation and head for places more humane.
15 - NC
Now that's how you win swing votes!
16 - Natalie Davis
Yeah, we know truth doesn't sell.
17 - NC
I can feel that rift beginning to heal already. Now then, speaking of heading for "places more humane," check this out. A first-world, post-Christian, English-speaking country with high tax rates, socialized medicine, a decrepit military and gay marriage! And it's right across the border! You can drive there. So what are you and Dawn and the rest of the fellow travelers waiting for? You guys are all "citizens of the world" first and foremost anyway, such that it shouldn't really matter which national citizenship you nominally hold. So get going, babe. You deserve paradise!
18 - Natalie Davis
When I can afford to expatriate, I will do just that.
19 - Cap'n Ken
OK, Natalie - you really need to give us a PayPal address to contribute to.
20 - Mark Saleski
ah yea....we're now back to "america, love it or leave it".
how long before we're back to loincloths and stone tools?
21 - NC
No one asked her to leave, Mark. She said she wanted to head for places more "humane." I suggested one. Everyone's happy!
Are you so hard-hearted as to want her to suffer on in a mendacious, theocratic hellhole? You big meanie.
22 - SFC SKI
I have to ask if anyone who thinks there is a better country than their homeland has actually been to said country. I've lived outside the US for over 10 years of the last 17, but I have yet to find a country that has tranquility, prosperity, and equality in the amounts these people dream about. I know America is not perfect, and there are some places that I can imagine living in outside of the US, but none of them are paradises, either.
23 - Dawn
Well, we certainly know that the healing won't come at the hands of the likes of NC and their ilk, as they gloat and rub our noses in their GLORIOUS victory.
No, I am not fucking leaving this country, and I will do what really needs to be done, and that is stand and fight for what is mine: 49% of a what was once a great nation.
Maybe Kerry conceded, but I sure won't.
24 - boomcrashbaby
SFC SKI, I have never been outside of America and I don't want to go, but I don't feel welcome here anymore. I want the America that I was taught about when I was young, and I realize change is inevitable, but I don't think gay people can accurately describe to you what it feels like.
I often get accused here of rhetoric and gloom-and-doom scenarios, but I don't bother explaining my rationale to most here, because the ones who most need to see it, are the ones who insist on closing their eyes.
My biggest issue of all is separation of church and state. I've been trying to keep track of it, but it's a full time job.
The Souix City Journal talks about Christian parents going after a school district because a teacher read a gay positive book to students. It counters their faith. I mentioned this one before. (sorry for the link but paid subscription required unless you got a modified newsbot).
A gay dad can NOT see his kids BECAUSE he is gay. This court ruling did not happen in 1950. It happened September 21st, of this year.
I could list thousands of incidents that occur every year to gay people, who are subjected to theocratic oppression by the majority, in this country, but like I said, the people who most need to be made aware of this, refuse to hear it. Lesbians who have their homes burned, students who are tortured and bullied by the thousands in this country, so bad that they are unable to learn and get an education, etc.
So I know when someone tells me that I'm all gloom and doom and rhetoric, well, it just tells me they live in a different world than I do, they don't believe something exists just because they can't see it.
The fact of the matter is, all this hatred and oppression has just gotten the boost it needs to now amplify. It's one thing for me to have had to grow up in it, but I won't have my daughter subjected to the hate and the evil of America's Christian and Catholic troops.
The sad thing is, that the Religious Right has convinced people that their faith is under attack in schools, in public, in government, etc. For example, to remove 'Under God' from the pledge is a direct and most personal attack on a person's faith. If a school system doesn't teach one's ideology, then that school system is attacking that person's faith. See how we can rally the sheep who don't think things through? Same concept works remarkably well with terrorism and reelection campaigns, btw.
I've never been outside of America, and I don't want to go, but I'm being told 'get the fuck out', and I feel for the safety of my family I need to at least look at other countries. I have no idea what I will find, but I suppose I will soon know. I can tell you this, I'd rather be bitching about having to overpay with socialized medicine WHILE getting my full equality, instead of saving 400 bucks a year and settling for second class citizenship in an intolerant nation. WHATEVER they have over there, cannot be as hate filled as here. If it is as hate filled over there, then we'll just go live in a jungle somewhere! I don't want to be around hate. It makes me hate and I don't want that. Thanks for listening.
25 - NC
No, you're right. The healing will come from people like you and Neal Pollack who can't see fit to merely disagree with Bush but have to demonize him to the point of tragicomic Kos-ian lunacy. Paranoid animosity is the salve that will soothe our nation's wounds!
The fact is, except for the one sentence about foreign newspapers in my first comment, I haven't gloated at all. I genuinely sympathize with people who found a way to support Kerry without indulging in the worst excesses of anti-Bush hysteria. I know how bad I'd feel if my guy had lost so I can appreciate what they must be going through. Of course, few if any of those people post here at Blogcritics so I don't feel any pressing need to tone down the celebrating out of respect for their feelings.
Look on the bright side: you have two beautiful young children whom you can mold to fear and despise Republicans as much as you do. Green Party in 2020!