Here's the thing, though: We know Bush's policies. . . I think I'm justified in saying that the (slightly over) half of the country that voted for Bush did so knowing this, and that really, really upsets me.

You're justified. I'm upset, too. I'm also reacting to the defeatism and emotional posts that have littered my flist today. Bush carried the election, which is terrible, but it's a done deal. What do we need to do now, to get what we want out of this admistration, or at least prevent them from screwing up the values we consider most important? If we the people who didn't vote for Bush are genuine in our displeasure at his re-election, we need to be activist, not spend another four years grumbling about a "stolen" election. We need to explain to our fellow Americans why we voted the way we did and why we think they should join us. Voting is the low bar; if we want things to improve we need to jump the high bar.

Or I could just skip people's Nov. 3rd posts. But ignoring the problem rarely makes it go away. Bush certainly hasn't.