A long, dark night...

That was my feelings about last night.

I read F. Ryan's prediction, and I spoke with Jambo about his thoughts on a "forty-State sweep", and I tried to be positive, but I really didn't have a good feeling yesterday at all.

I got to the polls yesterday at just about 9 AM, and there must have been a line of 80 people spilling out of the station doors and across the parking lot.  The temp was only 30 degrees... pretty cold, really, but the turn out was a strong as I had seen since living in NEPA.  My initial surprise was tempered while standing in that line for 40 minutes, listening to everyone around me talk about how excited they were to vote for Obama.

If memory serves, most were blue-haired women, stoop-shouldered old men, and a couple of "couples" (two of them with very young babies in their arms).  Were these retirees supporting Obama because of the Medicare scare propagated by the Left?  Did they actually think Romney would leave them homeless and shivering with no access to food, water or doctor's care?  I can imagine that the two couples with the babies were (understandably) immersed in such programs as WIC and (statistically speaking) probably some form of welfare assistance... so their enthusiasm for "four more years" was almost understandable, if not entirely admirable.  Did these several dozen people actually think the were better off today then they were in 2006?  Or even later?

Saddest of all... and I almost hesitate to bring this up because of the volatile nature of topic... was the 65-year-old woman standing behind me in line.  She never asked me who I was voting for, and she never told me that she was voting for Obama.  What she did tell me was that she couldn't stand the thought that "women's rights" might be taken away if the election went one way rather than the other.  "My body, my choice" was a term she used twice... even in the brief time we spoke.  I did consider telling her that, since 1972 (when Roe v Wade became defacto law), there had been 24 years of Republican Presidential leadership in this country, and abortion was still available as a "choice" in all 50 States.  I did think that perhaps I could explain to her that the GOP contention is NOT to end abortion as a choice in America, but to ensure that Federal funds do not pay for them... individuals do.  In the end, I did nothing but smile and wish her a good day.  Her choice was made, she had decided her course of action.

In the end, short on sleep and deeply frustrated, I guess I'd have to venture the opinion that Romney-Ryan failed to get the "message" of their platform out as clearly and plainly as Obama and the Dems did.  If an otherwise bright and communicative retiree failed so completely to grasp the actual fundamentals of a topic like Federally funded abortions and the GOP's position on them, then I can't blame her, can I?  It must have been a failure in getting that point across on a national level.

Watching the frustration and anger surface during the FOX News coverage was painful, but was nothing compared to the gloating and self-congratulation that was going on at the MSNBC coverage rooms.  I'll give both their time to take in the event... neither is unbiased and both had a lot at stake and even more invested in the election... so both are allowed their "moment".  The same can be said for both Parties.  The GOP got spanked (speaking in relative terms, of course... it was a close race everywhere)... the Dems won two more seats in the Senate and four more years in the White House.  I have to give the President credit... I listened to his "victory" speech last night at about 1:30 AM, and (without giving too much attention to what was undoubtedly pat, rhetorical phrasing) his words rang terribly, terribly true.  The GOP will have to find a way to pick up the pieces and continue to effort, or nothing will change.  The Dems will need to avoid the "end-zone celebrations" that will do nothing but further the rift between the two sides and work to accomplish something meaningful in the next two years (midterms) or face another Congressional upset.

Conservatives can't afford to be petulant and liberals can't afford to be "sore winners", or both sides lose in the long run.  Time to pony-up and soldier on.