Let us pause and consider:
Both in absolute terms and relative to 2000, the third party "spoiler" effect is _zero_.
Turn-out appears, at this point, to be quite high, throughout the country.
Minority turnout is larger than in 2000.
Only a minority of those polled believe the economy is doing well, and even more importantly, that number has been cut in half over the last 4 years, according to numbers that just crawled across my TV. Whatever the political significance, the majority agree the Economy *is* Stupid.
All of these factors historically favor the Democratic candidate, yet he is getting pounded like a mongolian barbeque joint's gong. According to my math and hunches, Bush should probably come away with 300-310 E.V. with 280 needed to win. The popular vote hasn't been with Kerry since he 6:30 EST either, though the popular vote numbers bounced around an awful lot in 2000, and in the early going it looked like Gore would be the EV winner and popluar loser, so much can still change. Que Sera Sera.
So, taking this all into account, along with the rosy exit polls, what are we to conclude? Are we looking at "kinder gentler" -- less criminally obvious, if not less criminal -- vote fraud? Or are America's downtrodden and mediumtrodden lining up and waiting in queue for hours to rubber stamp the dauphin's geopolitical vision of New World Order cum WWF Smackdown?
Has Woj simply been right all this time? (Are we of the American left, merely the most self-deceptive among the crookedly pious and piously crooked populace of "the world's last best hope"?)
And what of the Democratic Party should they find themselves in a position even further eroded from 2000? No popular vote plurality to praise, no wicked Supreme Court to blame, no Nader boogieman to keep the troops in line with.
Bottom line: As of this moment, it appears all the traditional and necessary get-out-the-vote techniques were utilized, and successfully. It appears the Anybody-but-Bush dictate was adhered to.
Kerry still lost, or so one would presume at almost 1am EST.
And if so, now what? Is now the time to question the health and survivability of the Democratic Party, the "second-most enthusiastic party of capital," as some have called it, is undoubtedly an organization that seems almost unable to attain power, and even more uncomfortable wielding it. Over the last 25 years its only strategy, whether in good times or bad, eras of political success and eras lacking in success, has been to ape its australopithecal opponents.
I personally likened the ABB realpolitik to the desperate (but necessary?) no-retreat dictate placed on the Red Army during the siege of Stalingrad. I shy from completing the analogy for the results are so portentious in their ugliness.
Perhaps I will go to bed now and awake to discover these results to be nothing more than a Dieboldian dream.
Rg