At Least

At least the bleeding will stop for four years. Doesn't mean happy days are here again---our problems are too severe exaggerated greatly the last four years and the country is so polarized and in my opinion will remain polarized but at least some first aid is coming.

Joe!

First Candidate to Beat an Incumbent in More Than a Quarter-Century After several tense days of vote-counting in a handful of battlegrounds, Joe Biden achieved a decades-long ambition in his third attempt at the presidency. Mr. Biden’s victory amounted to a repudiation of President Trump by millions of voters exhausted with his divisive conduct and chaotic administration. The result also provided a history-making moment for Kamala Harris, who became the first woman — and first woman of color — on a winning presidential ticket.

It Should NOT Have Been This Close

Max Boot in the WaPost It should not have been this close. Trump is on track to become the first president since World War II to see a net loss of jobs during his term. He has presided over the deaths of more than 232,000 Americans from covid-19 — a figure projected to reach nearly 400,000 by Feb. 1 — making this one of the worst mass-casualty events in U.S. history. He is only the third president to have been impeached for committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He has spread lies and conspiracy theories at a record-breaking pace. He has flouted democratic norms and quite probably broken the law; indeed, by calling into question the legitimacy of the election he is continuing to undermine our democracy at this very moment. He will surely be rated by historians among the worst presidents in U.S. history — and quite possibly the absolute worst. Election 2020 live updates If there were any justice, Trump would have suffered the kind of historic repudiation inflicted on President Herbert Hoover, who in 1932 carried six states and got less than 40 percent of the vote. Or on Barry Goldwater in 1964, George McGovern in 1972 or Walter Mondale in 1984. All of those candidates were vastly more competent and moral than Trump. Yet he did much better than they did. So far he has won more than 66.5 million votes, roughly 48 percent of the total, and, even if he ultimately loses, he will have come within a whisker of winning an electoral college majority. That Trump did so well in the election after doing so badly as president is mind-boggling and disturbing. So too is the fact that Republicans seem to have paid little price for allowing him to ride roughshod over the Constitution, lock kids in cages and spread the poison of nativism and racism. Embattled Republican senators such as Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), John Cornyn (Tex.) and Steve Daines (Mont.) seem to have been rewarded rather than punished for their sickening sycophancy toward Trump. After having spent the past four years as Trump’s enforcer and enabler, Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) will remain in office and probably remain majority leader, with the ability to frustrate any agenda that a President Biden would try to enact. AD The conclusion is simple if disheartening: Demagoguery and dishonesty work. Trump ran what may be the sleaziest presidential campaign ever — denying the reality of covid-19 while spreading it with his rallies; lying about Biden’s agenda, acuity and ethics; spewing personal abuse and vitriol — and yet he produced a better result than most pollsters and pundits had expected. His dishonesty increased as the election drew near — yet just as in 2016, he won late-deciding voters. Trump himself may lose, but Trumpism was hardly repudiated. The GOP did not suffer the kind of electoral destruction that would lead to soul-searching. It did well enough that the party will only be confirmed in its current embrace of populism, white nationalism and irrationalism. And the “Kung flu,” as Trump sometimes calls it, gives Republicans an alibi even for the president’s probable defeat: They will blame it all on China. The election reveals that nearly half of the nation inhabits an alternative reality — built by Fox “News” and Facebook — where Trump is a successful president and Biden is a dangerous socialist. That does not augur well for our future, even if the likely defeat of Trump himself is an enormous achievement. I recently wrote: “We’re better than this. Aren’t we?” We may not be.

National Election Day 2020

10:15 AM voting was smooth in Pelham. Short lines. Watching CNN it seems that nationwide the voting has been smooth. We've had record early voting but it seems that active voting today is still brisk. Over 101 million voted before this day began. It's a cool sunny fall day in Shelby County. 11:09 AM CNN has reports from all over the country. I can't tell what might happen from this. In the evening as I watch CNN Florida reports early. It looks hopeful at first but Trump ends up winning easily. Early on Ohio and Texas are competitive. Georgia was competitive early but Trump wins easily.

Gallagher on Grant

Gary W. Gallagher - The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis. A collection of short essays on various aspects of American history. So delightful! Professor Gallagher is Professor of History Emeritus at UVA The author contributes a succinct summary of the rising, falling, and rising again of U.S. Grant historiography. Here we have a good summary of how historical views of people can change.I have read all of the leading Grant biographies in recent years excluding Chernow and I am glad to see this historiographical balancing. After the war Grant was a war hero highly praised between the end of the war and the early 20th Century. His funeral and tomb in NYC was something to behold. Robert E. Lee was at first ignored. Then historiographical fortunes changed. There were the scandals in Grant's administration. But the biggest thing was the Lost Cause creation of the greatness of Robert E. Lee, who was considered by many including Winston Churchill as the greater general although in a losing cause. Grant was smeared as a drunk and a "butcher" who succeeded only because he had more men and materiel to throw at his opposing armies. This reputation was mostly created by the fabricated Lost Cause mythology created by the Southern Historical Society, But during the last twenty-five years there has a dramatic revival of Grant's reputation. The casualties figures that can be summoned show that Lee was the real butcher creating far more casualties than Grant. Both were in truth great generals but Grant WON thru better generalship and not throwing superior manpower at the South. The hero of Vicksburg and Appomattox should take his place amongst the most celebrated and attractive figures in US history.

The Day Before

The tension builds.

The Sunday Before

This is the most important presidential election in my lifetime. I am ready for Tuesday to come and get it over with.