[Julie in the rv mirror]

First, I would like to say thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread; I appreciate your thoughtful, well-articulated opinions. I also appreciate the support from my friends across the pond during what has been a very stressful time for us all.

I know that most of you understand this already, but this is not about feeling "butthurt" that the red team won- this is very, very different. This is not my first election- "my" candidate has lost several times in the past, and while I haven't always been happy about those outcomes, I have never felt the sense of sadness and real fear that I have been experiencing the last two days. No matter how much I might have disagreed with a former president's policies, I always believed that they had respect for the office. IMO, Trump has not demonstrated that respect, so I don't feel he is deserving of mine. He is simply not fit to lead a country- any country.

His was a campaign that preyed on people's fears and legitimized hate. Whether his supporters took him seriously or not (and the office of the president is a serious issue), it sends the message that his racist, misogynist, homophobic rhetoric is okay. It isn't.

Would Hilary have been a perfect president? No. Things likely would have stayed much the same. But under Trump and some of the individuals who he is considering to put in office, they are likely to get much worse. Economists have predicted that there will be a bad recession, which is not got good news after we're finally crawling out of the hole of the last one. As Caryl said, many people believe that a Trump administration will undo much of the progress that this country has made over the years.

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Actually I think your statement is ridiculous and uninformed.

I thought your statement was ridiculous if you think that people are that easily swayed just because some celebrity says they should vote for this or that candidate. If they are, perhaps they shouldn't be voting in the first place, frankly. I think most people had their minds made up long ago. And how endorsing one candidate over the other is "limiting people's choices" is beyond me- there were still three names on the ballot. Besides, all that "star power" did Hillary no good in the end- Bruce showing up at the rally was pretty pointless, IMO, especially that late in the game. The only real reason to have a "concert" is to get people to come to the rally and listen to the speeches.

The Alicia Machado case was the most ridiculous strategy of the corrupt DNC campaign.

It was never about "poor" Alicia Machado, it was about proving how easily Trump's buttons could be pushed, and his behavior when that happens. The way he went off on social media (Lord help us) over something so unimportant is hardly appropriate for a world leader- talk about childish. If you don't understand why it's a problem, then I just don't know what to say. His own campaign had to take away his Twitter account before the election; if he can't be trusted to handle a social media account, how can we trust him to handle foreign relations?

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Really?

Yes, really. What makes you think that any woman would want his filthy hands on them just because he's rich and powerful? That's akin to saying that a woman was asking to be raped because she was wearing a short skirt.

Originally Posted by AndrewG

If you care about physical violence / dirty election tactics / pay for play / collusion and corruption you only need to read around 1% of the Podesta Wikileaks emails to see it is an absolute blessing that Hillary Clinton didn't win.

I don't need to read anything to know that the Trump campaign was just as dirty, if not more so. If you think it was any different, you're kidding yourself.

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Well if Trump sucks in 4 years your country can do this all again

I shudder to think what kind of state this country might be in in four years.

Originally Posted by letsgotoofar

The problem is, the electoral college's process is currently flawed, due to pledges to vote for certain parties and candidates, and also due to gerrymandering.

It's also a numbers game, and both sides know how to play it.

Originally Posted by Adje

I disagree with Andrew about his vision of Trump. I do believe that Trump is the worst choice. For a few very simple reasons. If you look back into the life of Trump he isn't that succesful as he claimed and the succes he did gain has always been over the back of the people that trusted him. Don't forget that, by the time he started the Apprentice show, his empire was in huge debt and about to crumble and the Apprentice succes did redeem him. Also the many investigations and lawsuits against his corruption are too much to deny. Trump has cheated his way out of so many issues and there are still lawsuits open.

Yep, he was very devious in his business dealings. When he ran out of money building one of his hotels, he simply didn't pay his vendors, forcing many of them into bankruptcy. In the next couple of weeks, he's due in court to face fraud and racketeering charges over his "University", which if he's convicted, could keep him from ever taking office.

Originally Posted by Adje

Also, the Hate for the Clintons has been so inmense that many votes have been protest votes against Hillary Clinton. And believe me, voting for a candidate because you hate the oponent doesn't necersarily mean you made the right decision.

Absolutely. I think that some of those people might soon be regretting that decision.

Originally Posted by Adje

That said, he has the weight of an entire country on his shoulders now and I hope he handles that with care. He might not have been my choice, but now that he is elected he is the person that I wish strength and all the best during the Presidency, the people have voted. And it is time that Hillary suporters start to acknowledge their loss. Trump will be the next President and, like it or not, he is also your President. I read and hear about demonstrations and riots. It doesn't make this election undone. It's time to take your loss and continue with your life! Everybody was so shocked when Republicans said they would not accept the outcome of the election if Trump lost. But, people, isn't that what the democratic demonstrants are doing right now? Something about the pot calling the kettle black?

Logically, Adje, I understand that division is bad for the country (and it is divided, for sure). But I cannot support him as the president when every fiber in my being (*my* heart) tells me it's wrong. I don't think the protests are about the election being unfair so much as they are about not wanting Trump as an individual in office. I think Trump has alienated people to the degree that I don't know if we can ever be united.

Originally Posted by MarkS

The way millennials are handling this election makes me truly worried for the future of the US and the world in general.

Actually, it makes me happy to see the millenials speaking out. I think many of them didn't take it seriously enough, and now this is the result. Since we're so fond of maps and graphics here, I saw one that indicated that if only millenials had voted, it would have been overwhelmingly blue.