Well, nobody said this would be easy. In my book, there are only four states outstanding -- Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. The math is complex, but Biden could easily win all four.
But he doesn't need to. If he gets the smaller two, Arizona and Nevada, he is at 270 and is the winner. The remaining votes to be counted skew toward Biden, as the big cities in these states -- Las Vegas, Phoenix, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Pittsburg -- are still counting ballots, many of which were of the mail-in variety.
The two campaigns have adopted markedly different tones. Trump continues to rant and rage over Twitter, threatening lawsuits and fostering conspiracy theories of thousands of ballots dumped in the trash and so forth.
If this kind of nonsense pollutes your social media feed, be assured it is trash. No such activity is occurring.
Biden is striking a tone of national unity. his speech yesterday was the best I've heard him give -- measured, sincere, articulate. He sounds the way a leader should sound.
Look. Whoever prevails, it's just an election, it is not armageddon. There was one four years ago, there'll be another four years hence.
The people marking ballots and submitting them are your fellow citizens, not scary monsters. It matters in some ways whether they are Republicans, Democrats, or Independents, but it does not matter if they are black, white, brown, yellow, red or mixed race; it does not matter if they are men or women, straight or gay, or trans; it does not matter if they are old or young; sick or disabled or healthy; rich or poor; homeless or living in a mansion.
I could go on and on. the point is they are citizens and they voted. the rest is math.
By tonight, hopefully, the threshold of 270 will be reached.
***
* For the first time, the New York Times had more revenue from online subscriptions than from print sales in the third quarter. (NYT)
* Senate Hinges on Four Uncalled Races With GOP Holding Edge -- Senate Republicans, facing a Democratic offensive, won enough of their re-elections to diminish any chance that Democrats could pick up enough seats to take control of the Senate. (WSJ)
* Two Senate Races in Georgia Will Probably Go to Runoff (numerous)
* Trump is using speculative and false allegations of mass voter fraud to suggest that an Electoral College victory is being stolen from him. Many Republican voters cocooned inside a decades-long campaign unmoored from facts are likely to believe him, with some supporters even turning on Fox News in an unexpected scene Wednesday in Arizona. Trump's Justice Department, doing the president's bidding to undermine the election results, did not respond to a request for comment. [HuffPost]
* Win or Lose, Trump Will Remain a Powerful and Disruptive Force (NYT)
* A U.S. judge said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must answer questions about why the U.S. Postal Service failed to complete a court-ordered sweep for undelivered ballots in about a dozen states before a Tuesday afternoon deadline. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said at a hearing Wednesday that DeJoy “is either going to have to be deposed or appear before me and testify under oath about why some measures were not taken.” The USPS disclosed it eventually completed the sweeps and turned up just 13 ballots in Pennsylvania. [Reuters]
* Trump and his allies boost bogus conspiracy theories in a bid to undermine vote count (WashPo)
* Election Reveals Deeper Divides Between Red and Blue America (NYT)
* Uber, DoorDash Gig-Worker Victory in California Sets Tone for Other Fights -- Gig-economy companies won passage of a California ballot measure protecting their contract-worker systems, a major victory the companies hope will help them beat back challenges to their business models elsewhere. (WSJ)
* Police arrest 11 in Portland, 50 in New York at protests after U.S. vote (Reuters)
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