We shouldn’t gloat — we still have to live with these people.

But I’ll admit, I listened to Air America in the car today on the way to work, and I gloated a little bit.

Geez, Roger, I’ve been saying that in the comments to every Afghanistan-related post here since their election!

Seriously, though, it is an astonishing thing how we’re now hoping that John Kerry and Terry McAuliffe can live up to the standard of Younas Qanooni and the other opposition candidates in Afghanistan.

BTW, what’s to be made of the similarities between the US Bush victory and the Australian election won by John W Howard … including mainstream media hysteria, opposition soft on WOT, prepolls not picking up on the continuing working class shift to “conservative” parties (jobs! health! education! security!) and the overall increased primary vote plus control of House and Senate in both countries?

I have a feeling that there are a wholllle lot of Beth’s out there.

Could you just imagine if things were going better in Iraq how HUGE Bush’s victory would have been? I know only too many Republicans who were unable to vote for Bush strictly because of Iraq.

Thanks again to Beth and every last one of you.

But today isn’t like four years ago, at least, not for me. Oh, it took awhile… But a little over three years ago, something happened — a BIG something.

One of the calls I received in the afternoon of that terrible day was from one of my traveling companions. She was laughing, gloating actually, and said to me, “Poor Bushie… What’s he gonna do now?” Apparently, even in the midst of the horrors of that day, she’d managed to glean some measure of scadenfreude when looking at President Bush, sitting in that elementary school classroom, facing those children as the moment the crisis became known.

I was a coward, I admit it. I should have told her that, no, when I saw the same scene, the only words that came to my mind were, “Congratulations, Mr. Bush. You’ve just become the President of the United States,” and that all my support had shifted to him and my country in that moment. I should have told her that her laughter was obscene. I should of said a lot of things, but all I managed to say was, “Well, I don’t know about that…” (Damn my cowardice.)

But it was then that I knew my fellow Democrats and Progressives had begun to abandon everything I believed that liberalism really means. And I knew that I had not been the one who had left them, but they had left me.

So here I sit, four years later, happy, relieved, and with a tear in my eye that this election has gone the exact opposite of what I had hoped for four years ago. Though my awakening in these last few years has cost me the friendship of my almost-sister — a friend of over 25 years — who will no longer speak to me, as I am just too “hateful” now. Though it has turned too many conversations into minefields. Though it has caused me to lose respect for people I have admired. At least my eyes are open now… And I refuse to be a coward anymore.

Thanks for the great coverage, Roger! Your honestly about your own changes of heart have been a great comfort. Thank you for sharing your time and your thoughts with us.

I was listening to Don Imus’ radio show this morning at about 6 am Eastern. He ran into Tom Brokaw on the street with coffee in hand at about 5 am-ish. Brokaw’s comment? “What a nightmare“.

That says it all.

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By the way – I can’t remember which blog I saw this on; but, several weeks ago I saw a story about Daschle buying a home in DC which effectively made him a resident of that state – not SD. Now, when do you think that story appeared on TV ?!?!?!?!?!?!? Well of course it was last night after it was nearly certain that Daschle was going to lose.

They are so freaking transparent it ain’t funny.

Who was it that said, the American people have spoken, the bastards. The Democrats better remember that. For YEARS we have been listening to the whole president select thing, it is time John Kerry acted like a man.

If he can not manage it maybe Teresa can do it for him.

I guess they are going to say this time Bush wasn’t a valid President for some other reason. Sore loser! They lost in the house, the senate and the presidency…what does that tell the media and the WORLD?

Now France, Russia and the UN can go hide under a rock. We didn’t vote in THEIR choice. Pfffft.