In the end, it wasn’t even that close. The narrative could have been reinforced on the day after the election. But Joe Biden was denied a clean election. Republicans in the battleground states Biden would end up winning made sure the process was drawn out in order to create the seeds of doubt. In the end, Dems kept the House, won the Presidency by 4.5% or more than 7 million votes, and took the Senate. Had that narrative been reinforced, perceptions may not have been allowed to crack the cement of consensus.

All eyes fixated, as they always due post Bush v. Gore, on the early returns of Florida even though Florida is not replicable throughout the country. It’s metropolitan areas are not as rich a source of untapped democratic votes. Much of the North and interior resembles the rural South. The politics of Cuba throw off the political calculus.

Everyone says the stakes are high, but this time they really were. Those who attacked the capitol, the citadel of our democracy, laid bare the ugliness, vindictiveness, and violence that had followed the reign of the sad, clown-faced man. Many lessons will be drawn, such as the cowardice of people who know better. For me, the lesson I draw is the dangerous fantasy too many of us harbor – that of uncontested rule. Biden won. There will be an opposition. But will it be loyal both in the spirit of unity and allegiance to democracy? That remains in much doubt.