So... Hillary 2008 then?

I'm genuinely glad it's over. The hype and rhetoric had long ceased to be either meaningful or constructive. If it was inescapable from my safe harbour here in the UK I dread to think what it must have felt like for the inhabitants of Ohio and Florida. Watching the debates a couple of weeks ago was quite frankly depressing. Both candidates trotted out the same well worn phrases over and over, and both seemed as keen to use every available opportunity to attack his opponent as much his opponents arguments. I'll admit I had an idealised vision of what a constructive debate should look like. This wasn't it.

The news that Bush managed to receive a higher percentage of the popular vote than even Clinton is baffling to me, and perhaps as eloquent a condemnation of Kerry as I can imagine. I don't suppose I can be too hard on Kerry though. True he lacks Bush's simplistic charisma and warmth (perceived warmth, let's say) and his voting record displays signs of political opportunism, but I doubt these are reason enough to condemn him, particularly given the failings of the incumbent. Ultimately he couldn't prevail against the ruthlessly effective campaign wrought against him by the Bush camp. From the Swift Boat veterans to the horribly memorable accusations of "flip flopping" he was outmanoeuvred at every turn, and his attempts to fight back against the waves of misinformation came too late.

Ultimately Karl Rove is to be congratulated on masterminding a successful campaign. His strategy was as ingenious as it was detestable, consisting as it did of a shameful appeal to the Christian far right at the expense of the center ground. This from a president who once campaigned as a moderate, a so-called compassionate conservative who believed himself a "uniter, not a divider." What mockery has been made of that claim now.

Four more years.

Bleh.