Three Days Later...

It's taken me this long to begin to consider a post-election blog. I read through the opening of my last post on Tuesday morning, when I had jitters in my stomach but that same cautious optimism I'd had the last few weeks prior to the election. Fueled by decent polling numbers and continuing bad news and defections from the Bush camp, I was hopeful.

In hindsight, the piece of information that most pointed to the election result was this study: "Bush Supporters Still Believe Iraq Had WMD or Major Program, Supported al Qaeda" from the University of Maryland Program on International Policy Attitudes. The meta-analysis goes on to point out that:

• 72% of Bush supporters continue to believe that Iraq had actual WMD (47%) or a major program for developing them (25%).
  
• 56% assume that most experts believe Iraq had actual WMD
  
• 57% also assume, incorrectly, that Duelfer concluded Iraq had at least a major WMD program. Kerry supporters hold opposite beliefs on all these points.
  
• 75% of Bush supporters continue to believe that Iraq was providing substantial support to al Qaeda
  
• 63% believe that clear evidence of this support has been found.
  
• 60% of Bush supporters assume that this is also the conclusion of most experts
  
• 55% assume, incorrectly, that this was the conclusion of the 9/11 Commission. Here again, large majorities of Kerry supporters have exactly opposite perceptions.
  
• 69% assume incorrectly that Bush supports Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty;
  
• 72% assume incorrectly that Bush supports the treaty banning land mines
  
• 51% assume incorrectly that he favors US participation in the Kyoto treaty.
  
• After he denounced the International Criminal Court in the debates, the perception that he favored it dropped from 66%, but still 53% continue to believe that he favors it.
  
• An overwhelming 74% incorrectly assumes that he favors including labor and environmental standards in trade agreements.
  

"The roots of the Bush supporters' resistance to information," according to Steven Kull, "very likely lie in the traumatic experience of 9/11 and equally in the near pitch-perfect leadership that President Bush showed in its immediate wake. This appears to have created a powerful bond between Bush and his supporters--and an idealized image of the President that makes it difficult for his supporters to imagine that he could have made incorrect judgments before the war, that world public opinion could be critical of his policies or that the President could hold foreign policy positions that are at odds with his supporters."

Well, there you have it. I probably should have been far more worried and pessimistic after reading that study's findings.

There's been quite a lot written about the "moral values" of the exit polling, and I'm sure this is only the beginning. Without more information other than the talking heads and the bloggers, I can't begin to comment on it, or even fathom the meaning of that phrase.

What I do know is that slightly more than half this country wants desperately to believe in our President. And believe they do despite all evidence to the contrary.

Faith and emotions carry a lot of weight -- if there's anything I've learned from my many years in the marketing world, people don't make decisions based on logic. It's not that you can't reason with some people -- most people are immune to reason and seek comfort and security. As the good prince Hamlet said,

"Give me that man
That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him
In my heart’s core..."

For me, knowing what I know about the President and his minions, I was completely willing to put my comfort and security in the hands of John Kerry. Beyond all logic, I felt, and still feel, deep in my soul, my heart, and my bones, that President Bush is rotten. Corrupt, wrongheaded, mendacious, calculating, and deceitful.

For those who believe in the President, the challenger did not offer enough. My consolation is now that Bush will have to live with the mess he had made, and perhaps he will have to face up to them. We must make him face up to them.