Despair

I've returned from a brief trip to Tucson, where I spent time with my brother John. He, a knowledgeable liberal Democrat, is certain that Bush will carry Arizona (as Republican presidential candidates regularly do), and I sensed in him a profound despair about the upcoming election nationally.
Being from California, I wasn't as fearful of the result, but now that I'm back home and have read the recent CNN poll results, I'm despairing too.
I have this realization. Kerry doesn't fire up his natural electorate of poor, people of color, liberals/progressive/moderate whites. This is most dramatically shown by the spate of anti-Bush banners in various demonstrations, but few pro-Kerry signs. So, the candidate isn't going to pull in the votes, and the positive messages about his programs aren't either, for three reasons: First, because they're not inspiring programs, just rehashed ones; and second, they're delivered without coverage and fine speeches, just ordinary ones; and third because Bush has the money and position to cast stones at each message within hours of its delivery.

So, my despair has two facets. First that Bush/Cheney will likely win the election; and second that the only way for that to be avoided is for some unforeseen, cataclysmic event to occur in the US that will sway voters away from Bush. Neither alternative is desirable to me, but this morning that's how I see it falling out.

Maybe tomorrow I'll feel different, but right now...