It's finally over -- and at least John Kerry acted with dignity and honour by pulling the plug straight away rather than dragging out the process. To do so would have tortured his supporters and -- more importantly for me -- us journalists further with futile legal challenges.
I've got a hundred and one reflections from election night, but am just too tired to discuss them all.
Some of the most important:
* Exit polls. Utterly useless. Bloggers have already taken plenty of heat for publishing the exit poll data. (I saw all the data but chose not to publish it because of its perceived unreliability -- although I referred to it with a strong health warning.) I'm rarely one to stand up for the "bloggers are journalists" credo but on this occasion I don't think they're the ones at fault. It's the pollsters who produced the bogus data that should be criticised -- not the bloggers (although some of the more prominent bloggers really need to take a reality check and stop believing their own hype. Just because you've can surf the net and post links doesn't make you a political commentator.) More on blogs and the exit polls here and here.)
* Don't believe conventional wisdom. Record turnout and a big youth vote were touted as potential tipping points for Kerry. But many other Republican advantanges (such as among married, suburban voters and white Protestants) cancelled these out.
* It's gonna get bumpy. For the last four years, the anti-Bush campaign has claimed the moral high ground after the controversies of 2000. No longer. With a popular vote majority of more than 3.5 million an energised Bush can justly claim that America has spoken. He now has the mandate he's lacked so far and can do damn well anything he pleases (as the leader in this morning's Guardian notes.)
* Look to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice, William Rehnquist's health is fading and other vacancies on the bench are imminent. A conservative court would complete the takeover of all three arms of American government.
Last night, America changed forever - and I've received many e-mails over the last 24 hours asking what it felt like to be present as history was made.
I'll tell you.
I watched history being made in an unbearably stuffy makeshift press tent, surrounded by pizza boxes and empty coke bottles. The choking air was thick with the stench of stale piss wafting in from the portaloos outside.
Somehow, that seems apt.
I've got a hundred and one reflections from election night, but am just too tired to discuss them all.
Some of the most important:
* Exit polls. Utterly useless. Bloggers have already taken plenty of heat for publishing the exit poll data. (I saw all the data but chose not to publish it because of its perceived unreliability -- although I referred to it with a strong health warning.) I'm rarely one to stand up for the "bloggers are journalists" credo but on this occasion I don't think they're the ones at fault. It's the pollsters who produced the bogus data that should be criticised -- not the bloggers (although some of the more prominent bloggers really need to take a reality check and stop believing their own hype. Just because you've can surf the net and post links doesn't make you a political commentator.) More on blogs and the exit polls here and here.)
* Don't believe conventional wisdom. Record turnout and a big youth vote were touted as potential tipping points for Kerry. But many other Republican advantanges (such as among married, suburban voters and white Protestants) cancelled these out.
* It's gonna get bumpy. For the last four years, the anti-Bush campaign has claimed the moral high ground after the controversies of 2000. No longer. With a popular vote majority of more than 3.5 million an energised Bush can justly claim that America has spoken. He now has the mandate he's lacked so far and can do damn well anything he pleases (as the leader in this morning's Guardian notes.)
* Look to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice, William Rehnquist's health is fading and other vacancies on the bench are imminent. A conservative court would complete the takeover of all three arms of American government.
Last night, America changed forever - and I've received many e-mails over the last 24 hours asking what it felt like to be present as history was made.
I'll tell you.
I watched history being made in an unbearably stuffy makeshift press tent, surrounded by pizza boxes and empty coke bottles. The choking air was thick with the stench of stale piss wafting in from the portaloos outside.
Somehow, that seems apt.
posted by Stuart at 03:37
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