November 03, 2004
Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
filed under: Idle ChatterLook, this should really be very simple.
Votes have been cast. There is a system in place for counting all of those votes. "Provisional ballots" which are, according to pre-decided standards, valid votes - ARE VALID VOTES.
When those votes are counted, there will be a winner in Ohio. That winner will be President for the next four years.
What possible argument could there be for declaring the winner before those votes are counted? What, we can't wait 11 days? The country survived for months without "closure" in 2000, we can make it two weeks.
As long as states are divided with only a couple percentage points' difference between candidates, we will need to count every vote - absentee, provisional, EVERY vote. As long as states are divided this evenly, we will need to get used to not knowing who won on election night. This does not damage America.
Every vote will be counted, and every vote will count. Then there will be a winner.
[UPDATE, 11:25 am] Except, of course, Kerry just conceded.
Assuming that he has conceded because a cold-eyed analysis of the votes still out there to be counted shows that there would still be no chance of victory, then that is the right decision.
More thoughts - many more - to come.
Posted by rjt at November 3, 2004 11:00 AM