Competitive Intelligence

Bush Wins, Kerry Concedes – Democrats Enter First Stage of Grief; Ponder Own Future

Bush pulled it out in Ohio the other day and Kerry has finally conceded defeat, rather than await another round of uncertainty a la 2000. But it remains to be seen whether Bush or Kerry was the lesser of two evils. I was mostly interested in the demographic split – take a look at the county-by-county overlay of the 2004 election:

compared with the 2000 swing:

Predictably urban counties went blue, while crimson painted the countryside, but I found it a great comparison of the impasse that presents itself that we need to overcome. Other than that, here’s my list of the most interesting analyses over the past few days on the outcomes and what’s next for the Democrats – the lefties at Alternet seem to be getting gradually more depressed as time wears on:

• Alternet: Election 2004 – Too Close to Call
• Alternet: Election 2004 – The Day After
• Alternet: Election 2004 – The Deepening Divide
• Alternet: Election 2004 – The Unbearable Darkness of Being
• Alternet: Election 2004 – Answers? Do We Have Answers?
• Alternet: Election 2004 – Anatomy of a Crushing Political Defeat
• Alternet: Election 2004 – Mourning in America
• Alternet: Election 2004 – The Values Ploy
• Alternet: Election 2004 – One Country, Two Moralities

But, liberals tend toward navel-gazing in the face of defeat – or is it “progressives” now? – anyhow, we're all probably due at least a little soul-searching… more mainstream sources consider the degree of mandate Bush (and Republicans more generally) received and somewhat more realistic assessments of where Kerry left the rails, but as you’ll see from the URLs below, Slate.com had (at least in my opinion) the very best of it:

• For Bush/GOP: A Validation
• Key Ballot Measures Go Arnold’s Way
• What next for the Democrats
• Victory Bears Out Emphasis on Values
• 11 States Back Bans on Gay Unions; Georgia, Ohio Bar Partner Benefits
• Democratic Values - How to start winning the red states.
• Why Americans Hate Democrats—A Dialogue - Depressed liberals analyze what ails them.
• Whither Liberalism Again - Here comes the usual bad advice.
• Simple but Effective - Why you keep losing to this idiot.
• Why Kerry Lost - He was good, Bush was better.
• Something Nice About Bush - Chatterbox extends an olive branch.
• Brits to America You're Idiots! - Well, 51 percent of you, anyway.
• A crazy British plot to swing Ohio to Kerry – and how it backfired.
• Why Democrats Should Be Thankful - At least they don't have to clean up the Bush fiscal catastrophe.
• Moving to Canada, Eh - Let Slate help you decide if it's really for you.
• The Gay Marriage Myth - Terrorism, not values, drove Bush's re-election.

There’s always 2008. But, as Will Saletan emphasizes, Hilary Clinton shouldn't be the "man" for the job there – despite her speech the other day where she invoked Jesus more times than I can remember in the rest of her public life all together. Jesus apparently sells this election season... But could John Edwards really be the Democrats’ answer to Bush's plainspoken simplicity?

Whatever they decide, I prefer the much more light-hearted and pragmatic Needlenose approach to the “Six Stages of Grief” (as opposed to the more traditional five).

- Arik