The technical details of the election and the ocean's worth of questions that can be asked about the minds of millions (I suppose, 51 percent) of Americans are being well covered by others on the list.
So, I won't pile on there. At least, not yet.
What hits me now with startling force, gaining strength as it became clear how the election was turning out, is the realization that the United States has entered the 21st century almost still fully embroiled in 19th and 20th century battles that refuse to subside.
When I was a kid and imagined the 2000s, a specific vision entered my head: glittering tech, rational, you might even say technocratic government, and a whole new set of interesting, uniquely modern problems. Science fiction novels taught me to expect problems - I didn't imagine a perfect world - but the problems would be of a very new sort.
I didn't imagine anyone would be arguing over "moral values". I didn't imagine anyone would be arguing about Gay rights. I didn't imagine...well, let's just say I didn't imagine a man would be able to get away with all Dubya has been able to get away with by waving the twin magic wands of "resoluteness in the face of terror" in one hand and "my faith guides me" in the other.
There is, as everyone should know by now, a huge voting block of modern anti-moderns. They enjoy microwaved instant oatmeal but believe angels are tenderly observing their movements. They have bills to pay and less and less money to pay them and their government isn't helping but it's important that "God have a say in the White House". They're still concerned about that old word, "miscegenation", and fearful that Gays will corrupt their children.
These aren't horrible people, many are quite lovely, but they're preoccupied with ancient concerns and live, only half the waking day, in the world of space probes, cloning and M Theory. The rest of their mental time is spent wholly in the realm of dreams: American virtue (always under attack), God's relentless interventions in human affairs (there's a plan for each life) and a faith their fortunes will change.
Rove's dark innovation was to drop all wonkiness and hammer a specifically tuned message to this group without rest or deviation. Some have suggested the left follow this example, replacing the nation/religion combine with some emotional variation on bread and butter issues (nation/jobs perhaps). Maybe. It seems logical but I'm having my doubts at the moment.
Meanwhile, now that Team Bush has retained power we'll have a chance to see how far down the rabbit hole goes.
Right now, in and around the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah, US Marines on one side and Iraqi guerllias on the other are preparing to fight a 21st century Stalingrad. Even the Marines - usually a super-confident group - are, in many of the interviews I've heard, expressing some dread of the fight to come. They know by now they're not dealing with the supposedly cowardly "towelheads" many Americans love to imagine as their foes (updated versions of those early to mid 20th century filmed visions of Black men as being so scared of the world, even a ringing telephone caused them to jump).
They know they're facing hard, skilled, motivated men who aren't afraid - even in the face of a militarily superior opponent - to pull the trigger.
They didn't have to hate Americans, those Iraqi fighters, but now they surely do.
After four more years of the Rove/Bush combine, how many more people will have a reason to despise us?
.d.