FROM THE EXIT POLLERS

A guide to what to look out for tonight.

FROM MARYLAND: “My gut feeling is that a lot of lifelong Republicans (my 73-y-o dad, for one; other male relatives, all New Englanders) are not voting for either candidate.
They are either staying home or, due to ingrained civic habit, casting a vote on everything from Senate to school bond issues, but not choosing a president. Of course, repeated often enough, this will help choose Kerry. My take on this is that they want to preserve their future right to grumble at the dinner table, “hey, don’t look at me, I didn’t vote for the guy.” But they are also moral people – not perfect, not paragons, but men who strive to do the right thing even when it’s not easy, or not easily explained. W. is a coasting rich boy fr/ the get-go. Even his apologists know this. His utter indifference to everything but his own grip on power is too much for many “good Republicans” to take. Ergo, big turnout, but not so big proportion of Bush votes.”

SOME MORE: These numbers look more reliable. But remember these are exit polls, not real votes. And early numbers are not necessarily predictive of the final tally:

GWB JFK

OH 49 – 50

FL 49 – 50

VA 52 – 47

WI 48 – 51

CT 40 – 50

IA 45 – 53

MO 54 – 45

MN 44 – 54

AR 54 – 45

NM 48 – 50

NJ 45 – 53

MI 47 – 51