The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 7 of 13)

br> -- Timothy Birdnow br> St. Louis, Missouri /p>

Mr. Hogberg is right. The time for conservatives to gloat is indeed over, if it was ever here. In the first post-9/11 Presidential election the appeasement candidate lost by 3 whole percentage points. The fact that he lost is worth a sense of calm relief, but hardly euphoria. We had the opportunity to surrender to Islamic terrorists at the ballot box and, unlike Spain, we declined. But 48 percent of us voted for it.

p>We conservatives have had a good two weeks, and after the campaign we have been through we deserve it, but it is time to sober up and consider seriously the implications of living in a country in which a man like John Kerry could come so close to the White House in a time of war. br> -- unsigned /p>

David Hogberg reports that Conservatives are still gloating over the election results. But I think the high point occurred election night when Rich Lowry said about Bush, "Conservatives love this guy!"

Conservatives did win nicely in the Senate, adding Conservatives and defeating Liberals. There were some gains for Conservatives in the House. A Massachusetts Liberal was defeated for the presidency.

On the other hand, the state houses did not go well. And we have the status quo in the White House.

My view is that the election came out the way it did because of a complex mix of events, trends, and personalities. This is as it should be in a two-party system with each party built on dynamic coalitions. You could view the election as having 3 components:

p>1. Anti-Americans vs. Pro-Americans br> 2. Socialists vs. Liberals

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