Disbelief, from unusual circles

Just got off the phone with one of my partners who's on a junket with some local business leaders who just got the news of the concession. She said "10 of us on the bus, not one voted for Bush. People are dumbfounded, devastated." Her estimate of the mix: 6 registered Republicans, 4 Dem.

Plenty of emails coming in. One from a very good friend who couldn't repeat his 2000 vote for Bush, and went Libertarian instead.

At 12:38 PM -0500 11/3/04, ##### wrote:

To: fouro
From: #####
Subject: Moral Values?

So it looks like the two issues that people used to vote for Bush were

1.) Moral values
2.) War on terror

Moral values? Bush? As you mentioned last night he co-opted some phraseology from religion to build a base... what a joke.

War on terror? What about getting bin Laden???

Holy cow. What is up with people? Are they really this stupid?

heya,

Nah, not stupid, scared.

Scared makes you do stupid.

Scared of progress moving too fast.

Scared of a future that doesn't seem to need them or want them.

Scared of being rootless.

Then, told they should be scared because of who they are: "freedom loving Americans," which they can't and don't and shouldn't want to change, instead of the reality: We are feared because of what we as Americans do. Muslims are scared of us, and of what our policies and values and our ubiquitous, sledgehammer power will do to them. Bin laden tells them to be *very* scared, just to juice it up.

So, two tribes go to war to fight the cartoon versions of each other.

In light of all the above reality, you choose any port in a storm. Bush's beacon is his language and it's limbic simplicity. Protectors don't need to be perfect, they just need to appear to have heart and guts. Kerry loses on the former.

Yeah, I'm bummed, but not terribly surprised. I was optimistic that facts would out, and I am suprised that Ohio wasn't closer. It just proves to me what I think ("more on human nature," "brain brand") is truer than what I wanted to believe.

best

mark