In the aftermath of such a close and bitterly contested election, it is inevitable that the losers will look for someone to blame.

It is tempting to blame the homosexuals, because many so-called "values voters" who might otherwise have voted Democratic, such as many Hispanics, voted for Bush because of their opposition to gay marriage.

But that would be wrong, because homosexuals are seeking nothing more than the same privileges and protections the rest of us take for granted. We can’t blame them.

It is tempting, then, to blame the Hollywood left, who shamelessly mock "red state" conservatives with licentious depictions of drugs, sex and other debauchery in television and films, not to mention the political propaganda of Michael Moore.

But that would be wrong, because however offensive any of Hollywood’s films or television programs might be, they are protected by the Bill of Rights and Freedom of Speech is one of our most treasured liberties. We can’t blame them.

It is tempting to blame the extreme leftists in academia, who safe in their tenured seats at tax-supported universities espouse unreconstructed Communist ideology and a vicious hatred of America that often borders on treason.

But that would be wrong, because their speech too is protected and, as political speech, it is entitled to the highest level of protection. Even the most offensive speech must be protected if that freedom is to have any meaning. We can’t blame them.

It is tempting to blame the entrenched leaders of the Democratic Party and their key supporters, such as labor unions and trial lawyers, for their failure to provide genuinely new ideas and dynamic leadership.

But that would be wrong, because those leaders have labored heroically against tremendous odds and endured fierce attacks from the right, threatening their very survival. In the political arena they are all we have. We can’t blame them.

I guess we’ll just have to blame the Jews.

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Addendum, 11/9/2004.

Since people who don't know me may read this, I guess I need to point out that I'm kidding. It's a joke. Ironic it's supposed to be, you know, because Jews always get blamed for things they didn't do. Please don't actually blame the Jews. That would be wrong, so wrong.

So who should we blame, actually?

Consider this, from Jonathan Alter’s column in the November 15, 2004 edition of Newsweek.

In his recent book "Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America," Morris P. Fiorina of Stanford makes a strong case that it is political elites--pundits, activists, officeholders--who have a vested interest in dividing the country on issues like abortion and gay rights. Their talk shows, donor lists and re-elections depend on it. But based on a close study of voluminous polling data, Fiorina concludes that "on the whole, the views of the American citizenry look moderate, centrist, nuanced, ambivalent--choose your term--rather than extreme, polarized, unconditional, dogmatic."