The GOP's Shameful Vote Strategy

Leading up to election day, it's clear the president is looking like the underdog. Presidents with approval ratings below 50% tend not to be re-elected. In addition, high turnout is expected this year which helps Democrats. Among those turning out will be many young and first-time voters who aren't counted as likely voters in polls since they haven't voted before.

The solution among many GOP insiders is to suppress Democratic turnout as evidenced in the Post article. If the effort fails, but the election remains close, their backup plan appears to be to claim widespread voter fraud and head to the courts or at least to the television cameras to undercut the legitimacy of a John Kerry presidency.

For Kerry supporters, the solution is to get out the vote on Tuesday. Among friends, I've predicted that Kerry will win 52% to 47%. A result with such a decisive margin of victory would hopefully be enough to keep the lawyers and courts from getting involved and dragging the election out.