My brother broke down the people who voted for Bush into two categories: Christian fundamentalists and people who are scared to death of terrorism. Probably a facile analysis, but I think it captures the essence of what happened yesterday. I knew it was over when I was standing in the middle of a ballroom in the Minneapolis Hilton and on the giant screen in front of me, CNN called Florida for Bush. I hung around until 1:30 in the morning, hoping against hope that Kerry would close the gap in Ohio, but that didn’t happen. I must now reconcile myself with the fact that I, along with most of my friends, now occupy the ideological minority of this country. From my little blue island of Minnesota, I am confronted with a vast red swath of true believers who fervently believe that Bush will save them from the lurking hordes of queers, abortionists, and Muslims. What worries me more is that the vast, grassroots, progressive network that has been built over the last 18 months will collapse in the wake of Kerry’s loss. There are a lot of disgruntled college kids out there who may never vote again, much less volunteer for an organization like ACT.
If we Democrats hope to have any success in the next decade, we need to sustain and grow the infrastructure that we’ve assembled in such a short time. More importantly, we need to package a set of ideals and values that will have some currency with the traditionalists in our midst. To be honest, I’m not sure how we do that without compromising our core Democratic beliefs. That’s a task better left to people much smarter than me. But I do know that I can’t walk away from this struggle now. I’m going to talk to some DFL people I know and figure out what I can do to sell the liberal message in 2005, 2006, and beyond.
But right now, I need to sleep.

I’m not going to make any predictions about the final electoral or popular vote. There are enough people, both in the blogosphere and in the mainstream media, who are more than happy to read the tea leaves for you. I will describe my mood right now as cautiously optimistic. As I have been saying all along, this will come down to the ground game. We’ll see if the efforts of groups like ACT and MoveOn really do live up to the hype or if the Republicans remain the masters of grassroots organizing. No matter what happens, I think it’s important to remember how we got here. Three years ago, in the wake of 9/11, I doubt anyone could have foreseen the steep plummet in Bush’s popularity and the rising discontent with his policies. This country remains deeply divided and it’s a state of affairs that is likely to continue well after the election. Kerry is not the perfect candidate; I’m the first person willing to admit that. But in the final analysis, I am convinced that Kerry has the intelligence, the temperament, and the talent to steer our nation towards a better, more equitable future.
Some of my Republican friends have referred to my close attention to this election as “handwringing.” If a deep concern for the current state of our country is handwringing, then so be it. I’m still enough of a dreamer to believe that we are capable of so much more as a country and as a people. Tomorrow, we’ll see how many other people share that dream with me.
Speaking of, I’m going to be away from my computer, as well as most other media, for nearly the entire day tomorrow. Maybe I’ll hand out my cell number to a few people who can call me with important developments. Important developments=good news. I can hear the bad news soon enough.
To all of my readers with disabilities, I hope you make yourselves heard tomorrow, regardless of whom you support.

I exercised my right to vote today. Minneapolis City Hall was open today and I was able to vote absentee in person, which frees up my whole Tuesday. There was a line of people in front of the election office when I got there and an even longer line when I left. It felt really satisfying to fill in the oval next to “John Kerry/John Edwards.” And this being Minneapolis, I have a feeling most of the people in line with me were doing the same thing.
Poor Nader. When you start debating action figures, maybe it’s time for someone to do an intervention and suggest to Ralph that he throw in the towel. In 2000, the man incensed me. Now I just feel sorry for him.

One way or another, this election will come to an end on Tuesday or (hopefully) soon after that. And we’ll have to live the outcome while keeping some modicum of perspective. The world will not end if Bush is re-elected. Likewise, Kerry will not be able to usher in a Progressive Golden Age if he is elected. This election is critical, no doubt about it, but there is more to human existence than politics and we’ll all remember that soon enough. There are always new endeavors to attempt, new places to visit, new friends and lovers to discover. Life is too short to spend it brooding over what might have been. Sometime after the election, I’m hoping to persuade a friend to take a trip with me to warmer latitudes. The skies over Minneapolis have been interminably gray for the last few weeks and I wouldn’t mind seeing blue skies and blue water again.
But for the next four days, it’s go time, people.

Can the Sox pull off a sweep tonight? They’re up 1-0 in the 2nd as I type this. And will a Sox win somehow translate into another point or two for Kerry in the polls? Though I’m not a huge baseball fan, I know there are some long-suffering Sox fans out there who have been waiting for a very, very long time for their team to reach this pinnacle. For your sakes, I hope you don’t have to wait any longer than tonight.
Ever since I first heard “Stan,” I’ve liked Eminem’s music. I put his stuff on when I’m feeling like the world just doesn’t get me. I don’t buy the accusations that he’s a misogynist or a homophobe. Those claims seem to confuse his stage persona with his true self. Eminem is a gifted writer and his latest single, “Mosh,” is a great anthem for the upcoming election. It’s currently on heavy rotation on MTV and the video suits the music perfectly. Watch it yourself and see what I mean. If it gets a few thousand more young people into the voting booth, a few thousand more to tip the scales, Eminem should be given some sort of honorary post in the White House, like Undersecretary of Angry Suburban Youth Affairs.