We gave it our best shot.  So many of us voted for Kerry in the hope that we could get Bush out of office.  It didn't work, I'm afraid, and it shouldn't surprise anyone.

Madison was this nation's first wartime president to seek re-election.  Bush was the sixth.  No previous American president who sought another term during a time of war was ever defeated.

History isn't lost on me and I realize the odds were in Bush's favor because Americans wrongly believe that our ability to execute military action successfully must hinge on consistency at the top.  It's the premise that you don't change horses in midstream.  That's not true, but truth be damned when the herd mentality sets in for Americans.

I do not want Bush in office for another four years.  With the election results as they are, however, the decision is made and is clearly inarguable.  I just hope that this administration's tendency toward police-state tactics and arbitrary trampling of the Constitution will stop and that we can reverse the downward spiral of our international relations.