Quote:
with a 2.46% margin of victory one has to wonder what the real will of the American vote would be if everyone gave two sh1ts and voted

The result was eerily close to 50/50, and I can't help noticing that 50/50 is the result that would arise if most of the electorate voted not on the issues, but on media spin, gut feelings, etc. -- essentially at random. It'd be a bit of a coincidence if any of the traditional indicators of party preference -- blue-collar/white-collar, white/non-white, confederate/union -- came out exactly 50/50.

2004 was also a record year for turnout, and it'd be very interesting to see how well turnout correlates to closeness of result across all elections. It almost looks as if motivating people to vote is a lot easier than motivating them to vote carefully.

Peter