Accoriding to MSNBC, John Kerry conceded the election: Kerry calls president to concede after hard-fought election

I want to personally thank John Kerry for being reasonable and not dragging us through a redux of 2000. Kerry will apparently give a concession speech at 1pm EDT.

Do you think this was the right decision to concede at this point?

What does this say about the character of John Kerry?

I think it says a lot. I don't like Kerry, I never have. ABB is what got him votes and I think it says a lot when the vast majority of your own party is not voting FOR you but AGAINST your opponent and you can bring in such numbers. That is VERY encouraging for 2008.

I think it says a lot that Kerry cares enough about the country to throw in the towel. He knows that dragging this out would have done nothing but hurt and divide us more. THe divide isn't going to go away, but it certainly cold have gotten worse and much uglier. I am thankful this is over because now we can concentrate of bringing the country back to the light in 2008.

But...I'm still in shock and am completely dumbfounded by this election. Total shock.

Do you think this was the right decision to concede at this point?

YES. The nation does not need to be drag into another long battle/horrible holiday season over the presidency and the future of our country. The votes are in, Kerry would need to get all the absentee ballots and prove that some people did not get a chance to vote. This would be hard to do seeing as how Bush had the popular vote.

What does this say about the character of John Kerry?

This shows how honorable and full of love for this country Kerry has. From his time in service for this country, to his days in the senate, to this election, Kerry has done nothing more then served his country with honor and dignity. And Kerry concedes with that great honor in tact.

Right decision to concede at this point?
Yes, certainly. The right decision to concede at all, since it was clear relatively early that he wasn't gogin to get the last few states he needed to make the Ohio result relevant. And right in terms of timing, since it delayed just enough to be seen to allow people who had been queueing in good faith to have their votes count (whether or not they were for him), yet didn't drag things out painfully.

[b]What does it say about John Kerry[b]
Well, that he's read the W C Fields quote in my sig, for one.
But also, that he's pragmatic, decent, and honorable in defeat. Also brownie points to Bush for calling him a worthy opponent, though it might have been nice for both sides to have treated their opponent as honorable and worthy during the campaign, and taken pains to distance themselves from supporters who did not.

Still, that's more of a possible learning point for next time than a comment on Kerry this time around. Though I doubt anyone will change then, since whatever else you can say about negative campaigning, it certainly seems to work.

I don't think it says anything about Kerry's character in that it seems very obvious that there is not a reasonable chance that the election isn't recording the proper winner.

He is not a bigger man than Gore in the sense that there are not obvious irregularities involved in determining the victor.

I think Gore should have been more aggressive in making his case in Florida in 2000. That is hindsight, I believe Gore came to see the problems in Florida more clearly after all was said and done.

Kerry lost. Ohio was where he was ready to file complaints and despite a reasonable large spread of voters he held onto the option to challenge the results until it became obvious that they did not have a challenge available to use. That is not character it is conceding defeat.

The 2000 election was mishandled. Bush, Harris, Gore, the Florida Supreme Court, the SCOTUS, and local polling officials all share a big splat of egg on their faces from that election.

Thankfully, we are not going to relive the consequences of 2000. But that it happened in 2000 and not in 2004 is not a statement on Gore or Kerry's character.

Do you think this was the right decision to concede at this point?

The election was in fact decided about midnight last nite, once Bush had the 269 EC votes....there was no conceivable way at that point for Kerry to win, even if every single uncounted vote went his way. However, there were lots of uncounted votes out there...waiting for some of them to come in didn't really hurt anything. But there really wasn't any other decision to be made at this point.

What does this say about the character of John Kerry?

While I would somewhat agree with Eeyore, I am willing to give Kerry credit for not carrying this out longer than it needed to be. Doing so would only have further divided the country. I did hear that he had said after voting that he would not contest any results, and indeed he did not...kudos for that.

I do think it worth mentioning that Bush also allowed Kerry the time to come to this decision on his own. It should go without saying that this also says something about his character, as the evidence was all in Bush's favor many hours ago.

I will add that I am most interested in hearing both their speeches...hopefully, both will set the tone for moving forward.

John Kerry is a patriot---despite reports to the contrary---and as such he took the prudent course. He recognized reality and conceded defeat. Wrangling over a paltry 100,000 provisional votes in Ohio would have done nothing but enrich some highly-paid attorneys, divided the country, brought down howls of being a "sore loser" and accomplished nothing.

A wise man knows when to fight and when to give up and Kerry needed a little time to chose his course. Some time you have to take one for the team.

I disagree with the swipe at Al Gore though. Gore made a ton of mistakes, but wanting to count the votes was not one of them.

The biggest winner last night was the Supreme Court. Not one of them wanted to see Kerry vs. Bush end up on their doorstep.

Sure. I was surprised to see the relatively low turnout of college-aged folks. Had the election shown more interest from that demographic, then Kerry would be accepting Bush's concession call. As it is, might as well let Bush & Co. try to clean up its own messes over the next four years. With such a close election, and the possibility of Kerry becoming a minority President, concession is wise. Imagine how hard it'd be for a Kerry administration!

In the long run, this helps the Demo party as well. Consider: A draft might become necessary; another terrorist attack could happen; the economy could get dinked again; other bad things could happen. Any of this would kill a Kerry admin without a clear mandate.

Now, with Republicans controlling everything, there's no place to lay blame.

So get busy and accomplish the following over the next four years:

Finish up Iraq and pull out.

Keep us safe from terrorist attack -- that's why you got reelected.

We're still short of jobs -- create them.

Balance the budget -- live up to the claims of fiscal conservative.

Make sure SS is still working -- we are not getting younger.

And maybe most important to Republicans is to keep support for 2008.

It's a big, self-loaded plate. I'd not want it!



Generally, I think people will see him as the better patriot.

I'm seeing him as the better politician.

Edwards speech was a call to war. quotes like "the battle isn't over." And "debates will continue."

Kerry was more about joining. With quotes like "working towards a better America." And "a good talk with President Bush." And "hug America." Lets hope Kerry continues in his efforts to unite the America he has helped to divided over this campaign season.

He concede because he could not win Ohio and did not want to take America down that road.

But in the end he says "we will make a difference another day." As though today isn't that day to start to make a difference? And the "even if we loose we win, becuase we are Americans."

Overall Kerry made the point that it is time to unite, will America unite?

Edwards speeched concerned me...not as a conservative, but as an American. Was looking for more 'we should try to work together'....but guess that's just his role as VP candidate attack dog. Seems like, after last time, that we don't need any more talk about carrying on the battle.

I thought Kerry's speech was very good, though...will give him props for a very good tone. I think he catered to his constituents, while still indicating its time to unite.

I hope we do....we need it.

From Kerry's body language, speech, and tone, I hav gained a little more respect for him; even though I may disigree with him on some issues, I won't be disigreeable with him.

I realy hope America truely heals after this election, and comes togetter in unity.

I find it interesting that so many posters here who were willing to be disrespectful of Kerry during the election campaign just have soooo much respect for him now for being a gracious loser. Maybe they are being sincere, though; I'm not a mind reader after all.

The fact is, Kerry's character did not change overnight because he lost. He wasn't a dirtbag running against Bush, and he's not a saint now conceding the election. The fact is that some folks who supported Bush merely found a satisfying reason to respect him.

I'm sorry, folks. I think talk is cheap. Kerry was honorable to begin with. That it took a concession speech for some people to learn this about him is sad indeed.

Absolutely Guys

Many felt, (based on his voting record, and his various changes in his positions on issues) that Senator John Kerry would say or do anything to get elected.

I for one, can no longer consider that to be gospel after his honorable exit from the election.

Bravo Senator Kerry , If you had found a way to show such character during the campaign the results might have been different. The political strategists on both sides should take that into consideration for 2008.

Let us hope that the olive branch put forth by Kerry blossoms into a newly united America. It will be difficult with the level of control the Republicans now have over the House and Senate. No excuses for not getting everything done now George.
Kerry showed alot of character in throwing in the towel. Remember that moment.