Okay, Dems, What Went Wrong? And How Can We Fix It?

another might be Barack Obama

RICK WARREN: Well, Gwen, as Jim pointed out, the Bible talks about lots of values, and there are social values, which have to do with justice and poverty and equality and things like that, and then there are personal values, which have to do with personal morality. And, historically, liberals have championed the social values, and conservatives have championed the personal morality values.


Well, the truth is the Bible talks about both of them, and if ever there was a candidate that really espoused both he'd probably get 80 - 90 percent of the vote because what people don't understand is there are a lot of people in America who really do believe the Bible, and they're not just "religious right" or "evangelical." There are Catholics and there are main line Protestants and there are many who voted in this election.

-snip-

[Wallis]So what could happen here, I think Rick's right, if there was a candidate running with a strong set of personal values and then was very pro-poor, questioned, like many evangelical theologians did this time, a theology of war, they said, emanating from the highest circles of power in the country, these are evangelicals who said this, there could be a whole different kind of response to a vision that had personal ethics, very strong, but then a social justice and a commitment to peace, as well. So this doesn't go left or right. It begins to build bridges between two constituencies.


Whatever happened this time, we knew that half the population would feel crushed by the result. So maybe there is - it becomes a kind of finding common ground. How do you do political healing around what the moral values are, not just one or two, but all of our values.

Maybe both coasts could re-colonize the center with surplus Democrats! I hear that the Plains states population figures are actually declining. And you could buy a palace for what you'd pay for a 2 bedroom shack in SoCal. Of course, on the downside, you'd have to live in friggin' Kansas....

Alright, so much for that idea!

Yeah Ticomaya, this damn sunshine and nice weather has bored me to tears for 57 years. And those damn beaches........who needs em?

On Tuesday night, Mr. Rove succeeded, as Mr. Bush was re-elected with a margin of 3.5 million votes, in the first presidential election in modern history with an equal turnout of Democrats and Republicans. Mr. Rove's relentless focus on turning out more Republican voters, many of them evangelical Christians, was the critical factor in Mr. Bush's victory, Republicans said.

Other factors, Republicans said, were Mr. Bush's gamble to run on terrorism and his repeated use of a clear, concise message. And Bush campaign officials said they were helped by the man they called a dream opponent, Senator John Kerry, whose nuanced statements about Iraq gave them an opening, day after day, to attack him as a "flip-flopper."

rodeman wrote:

Yeah Ticomaya, this damn sunshine and nice weather has bored me to tears for 57 years. And those damn beaches........who needs em?

Exactly my point. At least I get to check the weather report to figure out if I need shorts and a t-shirt, or boots and a coat. Very exciting.

And no ugly mountains getting in the way of my view of the horizon, either!

Kerry was a lousy choice. Plain and simple.

My mother (family therapist) suggested all of us depressed by election results try laughing therapy. Goes like this: lie flat on your back, put your hands on your hips, elevate your hips and say loudly: HA HA HA HA HA, until you laugh spontanneously on your own. It's supposed to do wonders. It surely cracked me up to just imagine 50 something millions of Americans trying this at their workplace today.