Dan Gillmor writes:
The networks, falling into line under pressure from the Republicans, have all but declared a Bush victory. If the numbers hold up, as they seem likely to do, that will be accurate.
The Republicans have almost certainly expanded their congressional majority. (As I write, the Republican in South Dakota has declared himself victor without all the votes all being counted.) There is nothing good about this election for the Democrats.
More tomorrow. But I sign off with this thought: We will not recognize America in four more years. That will make half of America giddy. It will terrify the other half.
If Gillmor is right then the terrified half will be in the company of most of the world. I’m far from accepting that Bush has won this election and think it’s important that we steer clear of considering a Bush victory inevitable until we have clearer information, but in those moments where that’s not so easy I’m holding onto the whispered suggestions of a “toned down Bush” in the second term. We can keep on dreaming.
Toned down Bush? I could only dream, if we indeed are faced with it. Colin Powell will be gone, possibly replaced by Wolfowitz. What’s to stop Cheney and the rest of the puppeteers from considering this an endorsement of the Bush doctrine? They’ll have more power in Congress (thanks, in large part, to mid-decade redistricting in Texas), and they’ll have new Senators, including one from South Carolina who thinks that neither single parents nor gays should be allowed to teach in public schools.