The results are in and I was wrong when I predicted that Mitt Romney would win 315 electoral votes. For those of you who sent in nasty emails and for those who sent in reasoned arguments that I was wrong, please be assured that I will be on a diet of crow for some time. For those who sent in positive or thankful emails, remember that none of us wants to live in a country where one party wins every election even though we tend to wish our party would win every time, and so disappointment is a necessary attribute of living in an electoral republic.

Congratulations are in order to a reelected President Barack Obama, who has won 303 electoral votes and appears to be on his way to winning 332 when the final votes in Florida are counted. (The Fox News decision desk, in whose company I worked on election night, decided not to call the state when the Miami-Dade vote counters decided to turn in for the night; there are many precincts uncounted there and many precincts in the county vote very differently).