This post might be a first for American Thinker: we do not have a full slate of articles or posts today.  On Tuesday, we did not receive a single submission as everyone waited to see what the election outcome would be.  I'm writing this post at midnight, and the election is still too close to call.  When you read this, you might know who's won; I certainly don't know now.  I can, however, offer a few observations:

1. I'm surprised and saddened by the number of Americans who voted for socialism.  This is what happens when conservatives allow leftists to take over all of America's core institutions: education, the media, and the entertainment world.

For fifty years, these institutions have been telling three generations of Americans that their country is evil and greedy and that the only way to repent for their sins is to vote for socialism.  None of these lessons included teaching Americans that you vote your way into socialism but must shoot your way out (if you're lucky).

2. I've never before seen so much fragmentation in reporting on election outcomes.  Every single outlet is saying something different.  It's as if there are multiple different elections across America.  It's not just that there's a difference between leftist and conservative outlets.  It's that there are huge differences between leftist and conservative outlets.  For example, OAN is calling states more generously in Trump's favor than Fox.  As I write this, Fox, which hired a hardcore Democrat to head its decision desk, called Arizona for Biden even though almost a million votes are outstanding.  It makes it impossible for me to trust any of the Fox decision desk's calls.

3. I find it perplexing that the overwhelming enthusiasm for Trump all across America, not just at his rallies, but at the spontaneous car, boat, motorcycle, and even Amish buddy parades, does not seem to be reflected in overwhelming votes for Trump.  Were people happier partying than voting?  Is voter fraud this overwhelming?  Or were the polls correct, and the Biden voters were sitting in their COVID shelters, just waiting to vote?

4. If Biden wins, he will have been prophetic at the last debate: America is in for a long, dark winter.

5. Donald Trump is, by any objective standard, the most successful president in my lifetime: he caused the economy to soar, spectacularly reduced joblessness, brought real hopes for peace in the Middle East, secured America's border, did not start any new wars, reduced medical costs, improved the V.A., moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, appointed stellar legal thinkers to the courts, beat China back, renegotiated trade deals to America's benefit — and that's the shortlist.  How can this man lose?

6. If Biden wins, I will no longer consider us a democratic republic.  Instead, we will be an oligarchy.  The oligarchs will be the Tech Tyrants; their partners in the media; and the permanent, unconstitutional bureaucracy we call the swamp.  Oligarchies did not work well for ordinary people; they work well for the oligarchs and those who do obeisance.

7. Pennsylvania is now perfectly positioned for fraud.  We know from other elections that, in Democrat-run states, the counts and re-counts always end the moment enough Democrat votes are counted.

8. I question whether we'll know the outcome of this election tomorrow or even by the end of this week.

Sorry for this grim report, but I'm not feeling optimistic right now.  I hope the morning brings better news and more cheerful posts.