The day after

Bummer about last night. Despite the saddening results, I'm not sure if American life as I experience it will be much different in the next four years compared to the present time. Many circumstances of my life could change in the event of an attack. My taxes could either rise or fall. My job could go poof, but I'm guessing the election won't powerfully influence the existence of my employer one way or the other. My gasoline prices will almost certainly rise. The parks I visit could be despoiled. My energy bill could be exorbitant.

I see that Harper's has helpfully published a guide to leaving the country.

I see that more Democrats voted than Republicans, and that more Democrats voted for Bush than Republicans voted for Kerry. I see that more people voted than ever before.

I see that people are already taking this as a moral mandate for a "man of deep conviction."

At the very least, they're going to have to be truly accountable now. For the first time in his life, Bush will have to clean up his own messes. He will have to answer for himself, to some extent. But he will also be a prisoner of history. His will be regarded as the Presidency that is the source of a new set of problems he, sadly, cannot even imagine.