Well, It Was Close, So...

I'd like to say I told you so, but I think Hugh Hewitt deserves credit for learning the lessons of Florida 2000 the best. After several recounts, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Christine Gregoire "wins" over Republican Dino Rossi...

Democrat Christine Gregoire won the Washington governor's race by 130 votes, according to final recount results announced Thursday from Seattle's King County, but Republican Dino Rossi and his supporters said the back-and-forth contest was far from finished, more than seven weeks after the election.

"The election is over," Gregoire said at a news conference in the state Capitol Thursday night, flanked by outgoing Gov. Gary Locke. She added, however, that she was not declaring victory in the incredibly close race.

Gregoire urged Rossi and his supporters to accept the results of the statewide hand recount, the third count of ballots and the first to put her ahead. King County was the last of the state's 39 counties to finish its recount.

Read the rest if you feel like it; I'm beyond disgust over this mess. I feel for the Republicans in Washington, who just watched -- well, let's just call the actions of our friends in the opposition party and their surrogate vote counters in King County "suspicious." Repeatedly finding ballots that were "mistakenly" probably has the late Richard Daley buying drinks all around in the afterlife.

Is there a silver lining? Perhaps, as noted by this point...

Since Election Day, Gregoire has gone from favorite to underdog and back to favorite.

A three-term state attorney general, Gregoire, 57, was widely viewed as the anointed successor to Locke, also a Democrat. Rossi, 45, a real estate agent and former state senator, jumped into the race only after the GOP's first three choices declined to run.

I'm convinced the Dems will effectively counter the efforts to stop Gregoire from taking office. But I'm also convinced that the Washington GOP, if well-organized, can mobilize effectively and build their voter base after this mess. They came close in a situation where the Dems should ahve won going away, and the future lies with the GOP. The key is to avoid anger -- be motivated, but don't let it cloud your judgment, unlike some (coughmoveoncough) people.