Obviously, I was wrong about my last-minute vision of a Kerry landslide.

The funny thing about all this is the immediate hindsight which has swept those of us on the left. So immediate has the hindsight been, in fact, that one wonders why we didn't see it before. Or if we did see it (more likely), why didn't we do something about it? Feel free to re-aproprate this paragraph in reference to my personal life.

1. The campaign lacked focus. We never articulated why John Kerry would make a good president without referencing Bush. In the world of advertising and marketing, if you are Number 1, you never acknowledge that you have any competition. Coke commercials just show how great Coke is. Pepsi talks about being better than Coke. Guess which one looks like a hot-shot upstart and guess which one looks like a timeless standby?

2. Consequently, John Kerry lacked excitement. Look, if I was wavering and thinking Maybe Bush is on the right track for a few weeks back there, that really should be a sign that you've got a problem. And the problem here is not that John Kerry is a stufy boring guy -- an Al Gore stereotype that the Republicans were successfully able to make stick -- it's that the Republicans were able to make their stereotypes stick. The GOP undercut all of Kerry's strengths and turned them into percieved weaknesses.

3. Michael Moore is a wacko. As much as-- if not more than -- a wacko as Rush Limbaugh. But most people don't think that Rush is setting the talking points for the party. In fact, everything that Moore had to say has almost nothing to do with the reasons that sensible people would be behind John Kerry and no move was made to distance the candidate from the fanatic. Middle-America got scared.

The Democrats are dead. The party has been decimated. The Republicans are more organized, more focued, and much, much better at running campagins. I'm not sure Barack Obama will be able to pick up the peices, but it's a start. We need a house cleaning.

Even still, a silver lining. If George Bush wants my support, he can have it. I'm big on forgiveness and second chances right now.

This sucks. I've been disenfranchised. This is how it went down.

INT. POLLING PLACE

RAY walks up to the POLL WORKER seated behind a desk.

POLL WORKER
Name?

RAY
Raymond P. Blueline. B-L-U

The poll worker flips through the VOTER ROLL.

POLL WORKER
Heh. You've already voted.

The poll worker shows Ray the roll.

RAY
That's my father. Same name. See his birthday.

Ray points out the 1949 year of birth.

POLL WORKER
Well, what's your address?

RAY
Same address.

POLL WORKER
Well, you're not in the roll. Can I see your registration card.

RAY
I never recieved a registration card.

DISSOLVE TO:
Ray waits around for an hour while the PRECINCT INSPECTOR attempts to call the the Office of Voter Registration. Eventually, the Inspector approaches Ray.

INSPECTOR
Can't get through to 'em. The line's busy.

RAY
Well, what about a provisional ballot?

INSPECTOR
Gotta get a Certificate of Error from the the Office of Voter Registration for that, and I can't get through to 'em.

Denied!

And so, here's something that I've been really gearing up for and at the last minute it suddenly vanishes. Story of my life. And so, once again, despite my very best efforts, I am re-distributing the following sticker from 2000 to you for your bemusement / mockery.

Incidentally, I'm calling landslide Kerry.