So by now everyone’s heard that Ohio – considered a key swing state – was judged too close to call. Although there’s a 100,000 vote lead for Bush, the Democrats are fighting for every last vote. Their hopeful white knight? The 250,000 provisional ballots cast after numerous challenges, counter challenges and more.
I don’t think it’ll help.
Consider the situation. Bush and Cheney have 252:254 electoral votes. Unless the Democrats manage to take > 175,000 of those provisional ballots in Ohio…they’ll lose via electoral college. The majority of the country (geographically) voted Republican. The GOP extended their lead in the Senate and the House. We’re talking about a clean sweep here. It’s possible that conservative forces in the U.S. will have full control of the legislative agenda for the first time in…a while. Any Democratic president would be hard pressed to push any of his agendas through – hardly a backdrop for a bold term full of change.
Looking at the electoral map was heartbreaking. We have a sea of red with a few blue states on the outskirts. Right there on that map is a snapshot to just how far right the American public is leaning. On issues such as stem cell research and more, it seems like a good portion of the American people have said “Stop the train. We want off“. Despite the mismanagement of the Iraq war, the cronyism and the blatant grubbing at the feet of corporations – looks like the GOP simply solidified its lead.
Guess that’s what the people want.
There’s a possible upside to this. Possible. After two terms of Conservative rule, the people of Ontario routed them in the last election – utterly fed up with the direction Ontario was going. Is it possible that an analagous event could occur during the next U.S. election? Also, a Democratic loss would open the door to a more charismatic candidate – one who’d be able to fight on a platform that’s not rooted in the “I’m not Bush” philosophy. I still feel that Hillary Clinton will run and would make the most potent anti-Republican candidate for the 2008 election year.
Finally, a note on Teehan’s recent entry. Yesterday was Rob’s birthday (Happy birthday Rob!) and while we were enjoying a Pizza Hut buffet (don’t ask what I ate – the guys will laugh) Allister, Paul G. and I discussed Teehan’s claims. As far as I remember, we unanimously disagreed with two major points.
- Students are apt not to have a land line. Looking at our own experience – we’ve had a landline for the past 3 years even though we’d hardly be considered ‘heavy’ phone users. I think most students fall in the same boat. No one seriously has a cell phone only.
- Students will make a major impact on this election. My comment: “Doubt it”. As a general rule, students are (in my opinion) the most apathetic demographic out there – hence the multitude of Elections Canada ads targetting us for the last election. Given a choice of ignoring the election or claiming “They’re all crooks so it doesn’t matter” and actually voting – most students won’t vote.
Of course, we’ll wait and see what the youth turnout was like.