As a Permanent Resident of 13 years, I could not have felt any prouder of my choice to live and love this nation. Yesterday, I COULD NOT vote and it did dampen my spirits a little but I also understood why its important to participate as a citizen. This may be the only nation that does not have rebels running the streets in open warfare after such a close election. Regardless of what side we are on, all of you citizens (especially those that voted) have made me proud and I say THANK YOU (Yes even you, GOPer )

Its no secret I supported Kerry for Prez; not because I think Jr is an "evil man and I Hate him" (that really bothered me from some on the left) but because I think Jr is being coerced by a group of advisors that frankly are IMCOMPETENT and IDEALOGICAL to the extreme. I believe President Bush is a good decent man, who loves this country as much as the next person, who made mistakes early in life but certainly acknowledged them and changed.

But I do not think he is a competent leader because he does NOT lead but rather allows himself to be LED (My humble opinion) and my vote (IF I COULD CAST ONE)would be based solely on the mismanagement of Iraq and the reluctance to go back to the drawing board, concede the mistakes and change course. Who knows? He very well may do that now but it depends on who will be in his new cabinet.

I am not saying JFK has all the answers; he doesn't!! In fact the only difference in his plan for Iraq is that he "HOPES" to get more allies on board. That is it!! And maybe a new face may just convince the likes of France, Germany and Russia that this fight against TERRORISM is not an American fight but a Global fight (I hope they join us now, in spite of the "insults" from this admin coz we are all in this together) Change is good sometimes, and in my opinion this would have been a good time to do it. But it seems like most Americans would rather have JR finish this and the WILL OF THE PEOPLE IS THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE and we must all now come together and see this through.

For all my fellow Kerry supporters, lets not despair. And one thing I hoe we do NOT do, is wish IRAQ takes a turn for the worse. You know what that means? It means more of our soldiers will die, Iraq becomes more unstable and OBL's crew will be more emboldened, threating all of us. To wish failure on this adminstration now means to wish our troops harm and to me, that is UN-AMERICAN. I know we are all smarting from the pain and anguish (Sinanju..wipe the smirk from your face....and be gentle but now is the time to pray and hope Jr does right by everyone.

By 2006, I will be a citizen and I will be able to vote in the Mid-term elections. It will be my proudest moment (second only to when I am sworn in as a citizen) and I am looking forward, earnestly to it.

As for this forum, I hope we can all continue to banter back and forth coz I have encountered some of the most intelligent and savvy people here and to think all of you are "perfect" strangers makes it even more sweet.

JP5, CATZ, REBELLION,SIN, SENAX, HANS and co...please..please try not to gloat too much and rub our noses in it!! (It kinda hurts)

I couldn't agree more, although I must admit, I'm saying that because of all the GOP victories. But you are definitely right, we do live in a great nation, and I look forward to the debating on this forum.

God gave two ears and one mouth, and I try to use them in that symmetry.

I agree. In fact, I was going to post a thread urging the repubs not to gloat too much, and I hope also that the Republican party does not take this election as a mandate for a position farther to the right which will further alienate many voters.

I suspect that Bush has won both the popular and the electoral vote, and only time will tell.

However, one thing that all of us should be proud of, regardless of who won or lost, is the immense voter turnout yesterday. This election has re-energized voters in America, and I can't help but think that's a good and exciting thing.

The right to vote is a TREMENDOUS blessing to Americans. It saddens me that so many Americans take it for granted. One needs only look at the people of Afghanistan who stood in line for hours, walked miles to get to polling places, and risked death and serious injury JUST FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF VOTING. We are truly a spoiled and self-centered group when we do not exercise the right to vote.

Bear in mind, there are some very brave young men and women in Iraq right now who are running for office, risking their lives DAILY for the chance to serve their people. For all the problems in Iraq, I find the human desire for freedom, and the chance to chose one's own destiny by voting, one of the most hopeful things of all this year.

Frankly, I can't tell you how excited I was to STAND IN LINE YESTERDAY TO VOTE, something that hasn't happened before as long as I have been voting. That meant that alot of people who normally couldn't be bothered to vote realized the importance of their individual votes. There are alot of states out there whose electoral votes were decided on the basis of a few thousand votes, not hundreds of thousands of votes. What that should tell us is that every vote DOES matter.

And, I hope I'll still be posting here in 2006 and can wish you congratulations, MUNKO, when you are sworn in as a citizen.

Go you!!!

A few things I hope will come out of this election:

1) Real electoral reform, including requirements that voters show identification and reforms of the absentee ballot issue.

2) Continued political activity on the part of most Americans.

3) More enthusiasm for the duties of citizenship, including running for office and voting, among 18-29 year olds who have been amongst the most lackadaisical group when it comes to politics.

And, I hope that enthusiasm spills over into the teenage group who will remember this election and be motivated to vote in 2006 and 2008.

Catz

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Job 13:5 (New International Version)
If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

Ooh that brings back memories. I became a citizen at 18. It’s a glorious feeling. (Very early) Congrats to you!


And let them gloat. The (apparent) outcome is no surprise to anyone. And let’s not forget there is a bright side to Dubya’s winning – he can’t come back again.

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“Been living here in galus for a life too long" - Matisyahu

class to avoid gloating.

I will do so insofar as possible. This country needs to come together and be one nation again, and the divide between us needs to be bridged at the individual level. Gloating would be self-defeating at this point.

What is needed is humility and resolve on the part of the winners. It should be humbling to Bush/Cheney and their supporters.

I"m not a particularly religious person, but this election, to me, smacks of destiny. What I mean by that is this. I campaigned hard for Dukakis and Mondale, but looking back, I can't say that I wish now that they had won. The person who won NEEDED TO WIN, and we needed them, as a country.

I believe that Clinton, too, was needed in office, and made many changes that would not have been accepted if pushed by Republicans (welfare reform comes to mind, for example). He was the right man at the right time in the right place.

Ditto, in my view, the 2000 race. One of my first coherent thoughts on 9/12/01 (I didn't think many coherent thoughts on 9/11) was that I was glad the Gore wasn't in office, even though I had been literally physically sickened by his loss in 2000.

I think there is a reason that Bush won...I don't know what the future holds, but he's in office for a reason.

Now, that probably sounds far too religious/mystical for some folks here, guilty as charged, I guess. I hope that Bush is the man I think he is and will look upon his win as a call to serve the people...ALL THE PEOPLE.

It was literally humorous, frankly, for me to wake up this morning and have this almost mystical feeling because typically I am such a non-religious person. But I felt it, strongly, nonetheless.

Catz

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Job 13:5 (New International Version)
If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

..And I couldn't agree more.. Its been refreshing just to see that more people have gotten involved.

We will continue to have our differences and similarities but what separates us from the rest of the world is that we are able to DISCUSS our issues without violence and not fear persecution.

That freedom is what the terrorists are so "jealous" of. It does not matter who was elected Prez when it comes to OBL'S DEATH WARRANT!! Its been signed and I think Bush or Kerry (if he was elected) will make sure this guy NEVER makes another "home video". In fact, I expect JR to initiate an all out BLITZ in the next few weeks!!

But I think overall, Americans chose to give JR another 4 YEARS to correct his mistakes and to echo your point, with a REPUBLICAN Executive, Legislative and Judiciary, they have no excuses to steer this ship right. NONE!! And it does not mean giving Bush a blank check book because the "checks and balances" have now been removed.

But we will continue, in our own small way to watch them closely on this forum..

but the people have placed a tremendous burden of trust in this president. I hope he is humbled and challenged by it. He needs to be.

And, if the Republicans become arrogant as a result of this mandate of trust, they will suffer in the future for it.

Catz

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Job 13:5 (New International Version)
If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

..THE EVANGELICALS...They gave this victory to him based on the gay marriage and abortion (link to stem-cell)!! One has to give PROPS to KR for forcing this issue in 11 states. That is what gave it the President.

What his cabinet will look like is going to be an indication of where he intends to take us in the next 4 years.

It would be a mistake for Republicans to assume that things are suddenly going to get easier because of the Bush re-election.

We have some difficult, dark days before us, and I hope they're up to the task.

Catz

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Job 13:5 (New International Version)
If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

..And the Democrats also need to start figuring out what DIRECTION their party is going. 2 things they need to do right away: 1- FIRE TERRY MCAULIFFE. 2 - Start to swing back towards the middle and more moderate voters.

They veered away from Clinton in 2000 and I think its still hurting. I do not think Kerry is such a "liberal", like they all throw up but I think they need to move closer to the middle to win back BLUE DOG DEMS like yourself, Catz.

The Democratic Base was energized this thime and they need to keep it going but also reach out to the moderate Dems and Reps.