Thoughts on President G Bush' Re-Election on November 2, 2004

I am a Kerry supporter, and was very subdued to hear that President Bush won the national vote, and seemed to have surpassed 270 votes in the Electoral College. Say it isn't so John.

I said to myself "well this is what it's like in a democracy...sometimes your side wins, and sometimes your side loses...think of Republicans as well meaning people just like yourself...find a way to bridge the divisions I feel with the evident majority of the country."

Then I thought "most of your life has been lived while a Republican was President. It was a Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt when I was born in 1941. Harry Truman, a Democrat, came in in 1945 upon Roosevelt's death. Eisenhower succeeded Truman, and was my first Republican President. He was revered in my family, and was even a fellow Presbyterian. His warning called the shot on the military industrial complex. John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, helped pull me away from being a Republican, along with college and graduate school. Then came LBJ, another Democrat, followed in 1968 by Nixon, the Republican. I always had a grudging admiration for him. He was very progressive in some ways in comparison with today's bunch. Jonica, my first child, was born in the midst of Nixon's first term, as bombs rained on Cambodia. Republican Gerry Ford was a nice even-keel guy, but I was glad when Democrat Jimmy Carter came in in 1976. By this time I was in New York, and Amanda was born in the middle of Carter's term. 1980 the election of Republican Ronald Reagan, Mr America. On a personal level I liked him a lot as seen through the TV tube. George Bush the First seemed to me to be a decent President. When Clinton came in in 1992 I was deep in transition crisis on all fronts, going through separation and divorce, and trying to stay in a good relationship as a parent with my children. The Clinton years were good for me and my family, as we got through many crises in reasonable form. The Bush years of Republicanism have also been reasonably good, although I dislike much in the Bush II policies and politics.

So it has been 31 Democrat years and 32 Republican years as of today. Not much of a disparity when you look at it.

I hope the second Bush term will reflect things that he learned during the first term, and from the criticism during the election.

Caleb was born just before President Bush was re-elected, while his mother was born in the middle of Jimmy Carter term as President. How will this shape their relationship? Let's hope that things go well for everyone.