Election roundup

The NYT has a great article on how the democrats are sweeping up the remains of the campaign and trying to learn lessons for 2008 here. An excerpt:

Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana said: ''We need to be a party that stands for more than the sum of our resentments. In the heartland, where I am from, there are doubts. Too often, we're caricatured as a bicoastal cultural elite that is condescending at best and contemptuous at worst to the values that Americans hold in their daily lives.''

Also of note: Excellent NC governor Mike Easley (I voted for him!) is being mentioned in the 2008 pool. Hmmm.

On the Republican side: From the WaPo and MSNBC: Karl Rove talks strategy, and how he was able to win the election for his friend and President. Interesting bit about GWB's role:

Rove said that when he and Bush first talked about a reelection strategy in December 2002, the president, anticipating a race that resembled 2000 in its closeness, laid out a series of requests. He wanted a strategy designed to enlarge GOP majorities in the House and Senate, not what he called a "lonely victory." He wanted more emphasis on grass-roots volunteers. And he told Rove he wanted a campaign about big things and big issues, not "mini ball," and finally said he wanted to leave the Republican Party "stronger, broader and better."

Finally: Be glad we live in a country where contested elections are settled in the courts, not the streets, like Mexico (funny that all of the liberals fleeing the US want to go North, eh?) Also from the NYT, the story of the tragically ended life of Mayoral candidate Guadalupe Avila Salinas:

"She did more for people than any mayor," said her cousin, 61-year-old Emelia Salinas Salinas. Referring to the local authorities, Ms. Salinas added, "But what was good for us, was bad for them, so they killed her."

Sadly enough, I'm reminded of P. Diddy's implicit threats....