Thanksgiving. The turkey was perfect - the stuffing was dry. Skipper and Hank's cousins are visiting from Maryland, and the boys have had great fun.

I wrote in my posting of October 30, in my indictment of George Bush our President, that "arrogance breeds contempt." My view then and still is that President Bush's arrogance, his swagger, encourages and makes enemies. I even believe that September 11th might never have happened if Al Gore or Bill Clinton had been President. The President's swagger has become more pronounced since election day. Four more years, if we survive.

The polls tell us that a super majority believed that President Bush was a better candidate to protect us from terrorism. I believe that John Kerry was a good candidate and ran a fine campaign. My one criticism would be that he never articulated why George Bush was not the right person to protect us from terrorism. As I have argued, Bush's arrogance encourages terrorists rather than deters them. Kerry made a good argument that Bush's poor standing with world leaders and Europeans made an international solution in Iraq impossible. He also said that international collaboration against Al Qaida would be less determined and cohesive with Bush at the helm. But Kerry never made the "arrogance breeds contempt" argument. He should have.

I was reflecting the other day on the "arrogance breeds contempt" phrase. I believed I had plagiarized someone else. My research now indicates otherwise. The quotation with history and standing is "Familiarity breeds contempt." This phrase was first used by Aesop in the 6th century BC, and later by Shakespeare in the Merry Wives of Windsor. More recently, Mark Twain wrote "Familiarity breeds contempt - and children."

It snowed Friday night, so we were shoveling snow Saturday morning. Skipper (age 4 and a half) was actually helpful. He went at it with determination for over half an hour. Today, more of the same, as the steps were icy, and he chipped away at the ice with an ice chipper. Pay back time is here.

This afternoon we went over to my mothers and eventually built a snowman (the snow was just the right consistency) over five feet high in her backyard. She called late this afternoon to report that the head had fallen off and the whole figure had shrunk to half its original size. November snow does not last.

Hank has a nasty cold and was miserable all day. I expect the rest of us will get it now.

Referring to my posting of July 16 where I was surmising on whether George Bush and John Kerry knew each other at Yale, I had spent some time trying to discover what had happened to Derek Bush. Derek was a Skull and Bones (67), had played Ivy League soccer (all Ivy) with John Kerry (66), and must have known George Bush who was also Skull and Bones (68). A friend who is a Yale graduate looked him up in her alumni guide and tells me he is in Brazil. I had speculated on this possibility back in July but now it is confirmed. I would also conclude that he is not related to George Bush because I know from googleizing him that he attends prep school reunions in Sao Paulo. I now conclude that he is an expatriate Brit recruited to Yale for his soccer skills.

As to the election results, the focus in the press has been on values. I would agree, although I would limit this to the gay marriage issue. The overwhelming approval of state voter initiatives and constitutional restrictions on gay unions confirms the mood of the public on this issue. John Kerry's support of civil unions (as well as coming from a state which has judicially confirmed gay marriage) did not help, nor did his comments on Mary Cheney. I am not convinced that choice, right to life, or commitment to evangelical Christianity played a major role in the outcome.

Here are some statistics from the election. These are early numbers because some states are still counting mail and absentee ballots.

The total vote for the major party Presidential candidates increased from around 100 million in 2000 to 115 million in 2004 or 15%.

George Bush increased his vote total from one election to the next by 19% while John Kerry received over 11% more votes than Al Gore.

Only three states had less than double digit increases in voting for major party candidates. California - down 3%. Delaware - up 7%. Washington(state) - down 7%. My home state of Rhode Island was up just 10.3%. These are all Kerry states.

In Alabama, California, and Washington John Kerry got fewer actual votes than Al Gore received in 2000. In my home state, Kerry received just 4,000 more votes than Gore received in 2000.

Four states had increases of greater than 25% in voting for the major party candidates. Florida 27.9%. Georgia 28%. Nevada 38.8%. New Mexico 25.5%. Ohio was close at 23.7%. All these states went to Bush.

Great disappointment yesterday. My analysis will come on a future posting. Referring to my polling posting of a couple of days ago, here are the results.

In Iowa, Gallup had Bush up by 2 while Zogby had Kerry up by 6 - a spread of 8 points. The actual was Bush 50, Kerry 49 - Advantage Gallup.

In Ohio, Gallup had Kerry up by 4 while Zogby had Bush up by 4 - a spread of 8 points. The actual was Bush 51, Kerry 49 - Advantage Zogby.

In Pennsylvania, Gallup had Bush up by 4 while Zogby had Kerry up by 5 - a spread of 9 points. The actual was Kerry 51, Bush 49 - Advantage Zogby.

In Wisconsin, Gallup had Bush up by 8 points while Zogby had Kerry up by 7 - a spread of 15 points. The actual was Kerry 51, Bush 49 - Advantage Zogby.

So, Zogby International wins the "Notsailing" pollsters award.