Four more years

Kerry reconoce su derrota y ha llamado a Bush para felicitarlo.

Según cuenta la CNN en Kerry calls Bush to concede, uno de los consejeros de Kerry hizo unas declaraciones en las que dice que han llegado a la conclusión que que Bush iba a ganar finalmente en Ohio y que no había forma de arañar votos al candidato republicano sin una «lucha exhaustiva,» algo que «habría dividido más este país.»

Aún así, parece ser que John Edwards, el candidato a la vicepresidencia, no estaba muy de acuerdo con la decisión de admitir la derrota: Edwards Counsels Kerry Against Surrender, sentimiento que parece compartido por algunos votantes demócratas que se sienten traicionados, ya que aún ayer Kerry aseguraba que se contaría hasta el último voto.

Se espera que tanto Kerry como Bush hagan unas declaraciones a lo largo de esta tarde/noche.

Dan Gillmor lo ve así:

The Republicans have an even stronger congressional majority. They have shown how gladly ruthless they can be in using their power. Bush and his allies have never believed in compromise. They have even less incentive to govern from the middle now, even though the nation remains bitterly divided.

There's no secret about what's coming. We don't have that excuse this time.

Here comes more fiscal recklessness -- as we widen the chasm between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else, cementing a plutocracy into our national fiber, we'll pay our national bills on the Treasury Bill credit card for the next few years. Many economists expect a Brazil-like financial crisis to hit the U.S. before the end of the decade. If we muddle our way though the near term, we'll still have left our kids with the bill.

Here comes an expansion of the American empire abroad, a fueling of fear and loathing elsewhere on the globe. This is also unsustainable in the end. Empire breeds disrespect.

Our civil liberties will shrink drastically. This president and his top allies in Congress fully support just one amendment in the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. Say goodbye to abortion rights in most states. Roe v. Wade will fall after this president pushes three or four Scalia and Thomas legal clones onto the Supreme Court. Say hello, meanwhile, to a much more intrusive blending of church and state.

The environment? We'll be nostalgic for Ronald Reagan's time in office.

This is not sour grapes. This is reality.

Xeni Jardin escribe en Kerry Concedes:

BoingBoing reader Dave in the UK writes, "As a British citizen, I just can't understand why. Does the British media unfairly portray Bush, or are more than half of American voters just fucking stupid? I write this as an appeal to BoingBoing - please, please help me understand how this could have happened, and why, why on God's earth would so many Americans support Bush?"

Well, presuming that the elections were fairly conducted and accurately counted -- which remains a matter of some debate -- I'm going with yes, more than half of American voters are just fucking stupid.