It looks like Dubya pulled it off.

Kerry hasn’t conceded yet. He said he didn’t want to see the nation drug through another November/December of 2000, and I’ll take him at his word. Some reports indicate that he’ll concede by the end of the day.

John Kerry appeared to be preparing to concede election victory to President George Bush this afternoon. Aides said he planned to make a statement at around midday (1700) GMT). Two members of the Democrat’s presidential campaign team said Kerry’s concession seemed simply a matter of time after one last look for uncounted ballots that might close the 136,000 vote advantage Bush held in Ohio – the state he needs to remain in the White House for a second term.

I’m curious about the rhetoric Kerry goes with during his concession. Hopefully he’ll be more gracious than Gore was in 2000. Hopefully, he’ll conduct himself in a way that won’t encourage four more years of that “Bush stole the election!” nonsense.

n Andrew Sullivan has conceded graciously, for what it’s worth:

I'm a big believer in the deep wisdom of the American people. They voted in huge numbers, and they made a judgment. Not a huge and decisive victory by any means. But at least a victory that is unlikely to be challenged. The president and his aides deserve congratulations.

n The New York Sun reports that Dubya’s groundswell was stronger than I thought it would be:

More Americans voted for Mr. Bush for president than have voted for any other presidential candidate in American history, more even than the 54.5 million who voted for Ronald Reagan in his 1984 landslide.

I won’t mock Kerry. I’ve mocked him enough, and there’s no need to rub salt in the wound. He fought hard to win and I suppose he deserves admiration for that. Conducting a presidential campaign has to be grueling.