The Day After
I read a few minutes ago that Kerry called Bush to concede the election. Bush leads by more than 100,000 votes in Ohio, with just under 200,000 provisional ballots uncounted. Statistically, this makes a Kerry victory highly unlikely. He did the right thing by accepting his likely fate in advance. Waiting until after he officially lost would have appeared desperate. So like Nixon before him, Kerry has chosen to place American unity before his own interests.
But I don't like that Kerry - or any candidate - should have to concede before the counting is over, or more accurately, before an outcome is certain. It is our Electoral College that places Kerry in this position. Bush clearly won the popular vote. With no electoral college, there would be no conundrum of waiting for the counting of what should be statistically insignificant provisional ballots. We would all know without a doubt that Kerry lost, and he could concede with honor. Instead, he is doing what is right, and at the same time breaking his promise that every vote would be counted. That's a shame.
(Actually, taking a step back here, we can't really predict what would have happened had there been no Electoral College for this election. Every strategy for winning would have been different. Different issues would have been discussed, advertising would have been different. It is very likely the candidates would have been different. So we can't really say what would have happened.)
It was nice to have our election come off relatively free from mishaps, and it is nice to have a clear victor emerge, even if it isn't my chosen candidate. But in addition to being a little trepidatious about what the next four years will hold, I'm also a little saddened that two issues I think are important will dry up and fade from the nation's attention. First, with the victor in the popular vote winning the Electoral College vote, there won't be any pressure to change the system. Second, with no third-party candidate having any appreciable effect on the outcome of the election, there will be no real interest in an instant run-off process.
Maybe that's not so bad. If we can make progress on these issues now, we might be able to do so in a more bi-partisan way. Now, it won't seem like sour grapes on the part of Democrats in seeking to make these changes.
So as we move into a new administration, I want to keep dreaming of a presidential campaign where strategies are not designed around winning key swing states like Ohio and Florida. I hope to see the day when strategies are designed around appealing to a majority of all Americans, including supporters of other candidates.
But I don't like that Kerry - or any candidate - should have to concede before the counting is over, or more accurately, before an outcome is certain. It is our Electoral College that places Kerry in this position. Bush clearly won the popular vote. With no electoral college, there would be no conundrum of waiting for the counting of what should be statistically insignificant provisional ballots. We would all know without a doubt that Kerry lost, and he could concede with honor. Instead, he is doing what is right, and at the same time breaking his promise that every vote would be counted. That's a shame.
(Actually, taking a step back here, we can't really predict what would have happened had there been no Electoral College for this election. Every strategy for winning would have been different. Different issues would have been discussed, advertising would have been different. It is very likely the candidates would have been different. So we can't really say what would have happened.)
It was nice to have our election come off relatively free from mishaps, and it is nice to have a clear victor emerge, even if it isn't my chosen candidate. But in addition to being a little trepidatious about what the next four years will hold, I'm also a little saddened that two issues I think are important will dry up and fade from the nation's attention. First, with the victor in the popular vote winning the Electoral College vote, there won't be any pressure to change the system. Second, with no third-party candidate having any appreciable effect on the outcome of the election, there will be no real interest in an instant run-off process.
Maybe that's not so bad. If we can make progress on these issues now, we might be able to do so in a more bi-partisan way. Now, it won't seem like sour grapes on the part of Democrats in seeking to make these changes.
So as we move into a new administration, I want to keep dreaming of a presidential campaign where strategies are not designed around winning key swing states like Ohio and Florida. I hope to see the day when strategies are designed around appealing to a majority of all Americans, including supporters of other candidates.
posted by Charles S. Russell at 9:01 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home