Dems have a 1.2 million-voter edge in registration here. The only chance McCain had in PA was to choose Tom Ridge as his VP (which probably would have meant me ditching the newspaper job to work on the campaign); once that didn't happen ... And since my vote was meaningless anyway, I didn't use it on the ticket that included Palin, who scares the crap out of me. If she's the future of the Republican Party, that future might not include me.
I did think Barletta had a shot to pick up a seat in Congress; looks like a three-point loss. Close, but no cigar. For now, I'll be content with Glenn Thompson's win for John Peterson's seat. And there are some interesting things happening down in the 75th district -- never thought I'd see Dan Surra lose his job in Democrat-heavy Elk County. In fact, the only three incumbents currently losing in the state House are all Dems, and there's a lot more red on the county-by-county map than I expected. Apparently, at least in this Commonwealth, Obama's coattails didn't provide much help.
And as I look at the overall numbers, a four-point win nationwide is obviously more of a mandate than Bush got either time, but still not exactly landslide territory. Given the residual anger at the Bush administration and the bewilderment over McCain's VP choice, this election should have been a slam-dunk for whoever the Dems nominated. Honestly? I'm surprised it finished this close.
Now, for all our sakes, I sincerely hope that Barack Obama justifies the faith that 54 million voters (at last report) placed in him today.