Four injured as empty train plows into an idling train at Woodley Park. Red Line closed between Van Ness, Dupont.

You know, not to be a huge whiner, but things like this, this and this push me toward the stereotyping of wingers as classless, abrasive buffoons that I'm already far too ready to make. Grace, guys. C'mon. Just try. Shouldn't you be talking about how great privatized social security is going to be, instead of finding new ways to say "suck it"?

well, i think we could all use a little cheering up (especially my family. i just received this report from my father: "very depressing. I remember nixon's victory over mcgovern--my first election, I think - in 1972, but that was nothing like this. mom and marggie are in deep depression. I can't watch tv, read the paper or check the webblogs. from now on, its only espn and victorian novels for me." jesus. large bundle of prozac to the andrews family, stat).

so i propose a small party tomorrow celebrating the second biggest event of november: the premiere of the O.C.!

here's the deal: if you're obsessed with the O.C., or would like to become obsessed with the O.C., come on over to our place a little before 8 p.m. tomorrow. positive attitudes encouraged; talk of the election not permitted; democrats only need apply. (sorry, repubs, but california is a bastion of godless communism and mandatory abortions for everyone, so you're not invited to our hedonistic enclave. enjoy the cornfields.)

i'll buy the ingredients for the beachiest, sunniest, O.C.-est drinks we can imagine. sex on the beach... umm, any ideas?...we should do a drink named after marissa that involves mixing tequila and anti-depressants. that'd be a big hit.

if you watched the O.C. the first season, you'll know it'll be great. and if you've never seen it before, come learn what the magic is all about.

let me know via comments or email if you'll be making an appearance.

Not the whole democracy thing -- that was good. And it seems to have worked without too many major problems. But, while I think Kerry's right to insist that all the votes be counted (if nothing else, it sets a good precedent and has very little downside), it seems all but certain that Bush will serve a second term as President.

I'm feeling much too gloomy to think about where we go from here. And let's face it, there's plenty of time for that. Without a polarizing battle of personalities, interest in politics will immediately drop. It's like the World Cup. Once every four years, I'm a soccer fan. I find politics a lot more interesting than soccer, but I doubt I'll be checking Atrios multiple times a day anymore. I think a large portion of the netroots are going to resume doing the jobs they've been ignoring for the last year.

No, right now I'm more interested in throwing around blame. Clearly the Democratic Party has been unable to sell itself to America for the last two elections. It's time to get rid of McAuliffe and the rest of the Clintonian establishment. Centrism sounds great, but if it doesn't deliver elections, what's the point? I'm beginning to think that having a candidate that the base actually believes in could be an asset. If we're genuinely sold, maybe we can do a better job selling.

Of course some blame must rest with Kerry. He was an unexciting candidate with an unexciting record, who somehow let his opponents turn his status as a war hero into a negative. Still, it's tough to see what he could have done differently from a strategic standpoint other than be smart about Iraq back when almost no one was. Or not run in the first place.

The final relevant party isn't guilty, or to blame, or at fault. But I feel they do bear the most responsibility, if such a distinction can be made. I'm hesitant to point it out -- scapegoating a consistently persecuted minority is not a business I want to get into. But this election was too important to ignore what I think is staring us all in the face.

The gay rights movement has made incredible strides in the past four years -- I'm amazed that a national conversation on gay marriage is taking place. I thought this was a good sign.

Clearly, I was wrong. All indications are that the Republican strategy worked, that this issue served as a wedge, and that "morals issues" -- e.g., dudes kissing -- played a significant factor in Bush's reelection. I certainly won't begrudge anyone the desire to enjoy the rights they deserve. But, as I've argued in comments elsewhere on this site, I think the actual social payoff is small and the political liability huge. Many of the rights that gays and lesbians are currently denied boil down to economic benefits afforded to straight married couples -- and given that the demographic does better than median, this becomes more an issue of fairness than a pressing injustice. No one should have trouble visiting their loved one in the hospital. But that's not what was on the ballot, and I have a hard time believing that such tear-jerking concerns would have been difficult to achieve quietly.

To my mind it's clear that insofar as the Democratic Party can be considered a body capable of deliberate action, pursuing gay marriage was a serious mistake. I am aware that Kerry did not endorse gay marriage. Still, he was flanked by his own supporters, infatuated as we are with the righteous moral clarity of the civil rights movement, to which comparisons are inevitably made and inevitably overstated. We couldn't resist that narrative, just as the right can't resist the idea of a righteous war against a looming global evil. The difference is that their fairy tale is one that American culture is used to and comfortable with.

Like I said, there's no blame here, just disappointment. I don't blame anybody for trying to move the fight for equality forward; unfortunately, the result seems to have been a huge step backward. The Republicans won't be doing gay rights any favors; after this election, it's tough to imagine that the Democrats will be, either.

well, barring some miracle in ohio, it looks pretty clear that dubya won.

so...there's only so much despondence that you can feel. and i felt it all last night from midnight until 4 am. so this morning, i accept the fact that bush will be president for the next four years, and i hope for the following: