Dems Too Clever By A Half?

Was the Democratic Party too clever for its own good on election night? More specifically, did they mix and match some mutually incompatible strategies, and end up getting screwed by the Dem-centric exit polls? Some have wondered, but this kinda sums it up best:

Throughout the afternoon and well into election night, the Kerry people thought they were winning. If they were winning they could not complain about how the election was being conducted. The thousands of lawyers the Kerry campaign had deployed to the battleground states could not file challenges because they didn't want their own people to call into question the legitimacy of the process.

By the time it became clear that President Bush was likely to win, it was too late for the Kerry campaign to go back to the news media and complain that there were problems with the election.

The above, btw, comes from one of the little-known gems of blogging, www.mullings.com. If you're not familiar with the site, treat yourself to a look (and if you write the site, treat yourself to a drink, and thanks for visiting!).