Alright - Am I the only DU'er who thinks Kerry actually lost?

[liberalpragmatist]

I'm a huge Kerry fan and there were definitely irregularities in Ohio. Still, while I fully favor a recount and the full counting of provisional ballots (what's the harm in counting the votes) as well as investigating allegations of fraud, frankly, I just don't think the votes are there. BBV definitely should be investigated and we need to get a verifiable paper-trail in place.

It's also very possible that more Ohioans intended to vote for Kerry but were turned away b/c of lines that were too long. But you can't count votes that don't exist. It should be a voting-rights suit and states should be mandated to provide equal ratios of voting machines to all areas of a state - but that's a fight for the future, not one that can change the election retroactively.

All this being said, nothing I have read indicates to me that the outcome can change. It will not. At the end of they, I'm sorry, I have to believe, as heartbreaking as it is for me, that George W. Bush got more votes that John Kerry in Ohio and Florida. This isn't a 538-vote difference; this is a 130,000-vote difference. I'm sorry, the numbers just don't bear our a Kerry victory.

I'm getting a little annoyed at the constant carping on any strategy thread about how Kerry didn't lose - we will destroy ourselves if we singlemindedly keep telling ourselves he didn't. Yes, there were serious problems in voting that need to be corrected, but those alone will not win us an election.

Frankly, I believe Kerry was right to concede. I do believe his lawyers should be more involved in the recount effort, but the numbers just don't bear out a scenario for a Kerry victory. There's no justification for a suicide campaign - and that's what a defiant Kerry nonconcession would be. We would probably STILL lose, and we'd be branded sore losers. The Democratic Party would be destroyed. The country would be even more against us. Over 80% of the country believed Kerry did the right thing in conceding. We have to pick our battles - and a battle after Nov. 3 in which Kerry declared he had a chance of victory would be futile and suicidal. And sometimes you have to think long-term and look at the broader spectrum.

If you disagree with the opinions expressed in this thread, I would appreciate it if you would respond respectfully. I'm not interested in a flame-war.