Whirlwind

Well, Ohio is looking too close to call, but the blog-o-sphere is showing some remarkable evidence for Bush taking that hotly contested state. The Kerry/Edawards campaign is still holding out some hope that the provisional ballots that have not been counted (about 125,000 according to NBC) will tip the balance. Bush currently holds a 130,000+ margin, so I cannot comprehend the Kerry campaign’s thinking on this one unless they have some internal numbers that show otherwise. All the available information overwhelmingly is showing Ohio as heading into the President’s column.

Tavis Smiley, an NPR/PBS host, made an excellent point that I think the media did not really pick up enough on: it is one thing to vote against the President and another to vote for John Kerry. The real issue in seeing who wins and watching the dynamics of the turnout really stem around the ability to energize voters. If many of the battleground states are any indications and exit polls taken into account, John Kerry did not do so well in making this distinction. Perhaps he did not want to, but that really can be seen as a failing.

Time and time again in talking with people, I found that if they had qualms with Mr. Bush, they planned to specifically vote against him instead of voting on the qualifications of Mr. Kerry. This is a huge distinction that was often lost in the media fray leading up to voting day.

Nevada is also reporting a slim margin for President Bush with 65% of precincts reporting. Still too early to call.