Reply #21: Being from ET, you'll appreciate this football analogy:

[ktowntennesseedem]

I'm sensing the same thing from my vantage point; the natives are restless and uneasy. I think it is like Tennessee football when the team has lost a few games, including a couple of blow-outs and a game or two that we should have won. Throw in a few wins where the team struggled when we should have easily prevailed, and you get a lot of Big Orange fans ready to send a moving van to the coach's house. Their still diehard UT fans, and no one's ready to start routing for Vandy or Kentucky, but they do decide to stick the orange shirts back in the closet and skip the late games.

I think that's similar to what the majority of Dubya-worshipers are experiencing. They are still Republican and still conservative and still whatever, but it's killing them to be a fan right now. The same bunch that was so enthusiastic going into the election (spring training, pre-season expectations), and who were so giddy after beating mean ol' Kerry (that opening game win that should have been easier that it was), they are now embarrassed by the broken promises and failed expectations. They not about to run out and register as Democrats, but they're not happy with what they are seeing.

Hopeful indeed!