# How long will it take for you to accept a Romney win? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 1, 2012, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542 "2012-11-01T09:02:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/41 "2012-11-01T16:26:27Z")
The outcome of the election will become clear, and I will accept it either way, sometime immediately follow the close of polling stations in all of the Central Time Zone states. Romney must will Florida and needs Ohio to win. If he loses Ohio he’d better hope that some combination of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Iowa breaks his way. If they don’t that’s that. And I betcha he and the President know it. If the President gets through the midwest with ~200 electoral votes in his pocket it’s over. The west coast (CA, OR, WA) represent 74 electoral votes (not including 4 from Hawaii and 6 from Nevada) for Team Blue while only locking in 3 in Alaska for Team Red. Take all of that into account and Obama needs to get 186 EV from ET, CT and MT to lock it up. So look to FL, PA, MI, OH, and WI. By about 9PM Eastern we should know what’s going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/42 "2012-11-01T16:29:12Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > What sense does that make? If it’s impossible for him to lose, maybe the funds he has can be better spent in the Congressional races. > [@](#): > > You may be being too literal in your sad effort to poke the liberals in this instance. I respond to what people write. If the say “never”, I accept that. If they don’t want people to think that’s what they believe, then they shouldn’t write it. And given that these same people generally have not accepted the 2004 results, I see no reason to doubt their sincerity. You may be trying to hard to cut them some slack. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/43 "2012-11-01T16:31:10Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > #3 is the way I’ll go. If Obama concedes, over legit or non-legit results, it’s over. What if he concedes and then unconcedes, like Gore in 2000? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/44 "2012-11-01T16:31:22Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think the point is that the candidates have much better data than any of us can possibly hope to have, and they have a huge personal stake in the process, so they are in a better position to make the call than we are. Indeed. I recall an interview with GHWB about the 1992 election where he said that he knew he’d lost when the first returns came back from the east coast. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/45 "2012-11-01T16:34:24Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > What if he concedes and then unconcedes, like Gore in 2000? I would say that if he “unconcedes” before the certification, then OK. I’ll accept his unconcession as cancelling out his concession. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/46 "2012-11-01T16:40:01Z")
I’d put it somewhere around 1 or 3. I’ll assume that the networks and the Obama campaign would be getting pretty much the same nationwide realtime information and would reach a conclusion around the same time. It would be a toss-up between which of them announced it first. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/47 "2012-11-01T16:45:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I respond to what people write. If the say “never”, I accept that. If they don’t want people to think that’s what they believe, then they shouldn’t write it. And given that these same people generally have not accepted the 2004 results, I see no reason to doubt their sincerity. > > You may be trying to hard to cut them some slack. Nope. I’m not the one suggesting stupid gotcha yas. Show me someone who said, anything like “no matter what Obama does, Romney cannot win.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/48 "2012-11-01T16:47:25Z")
I will acknowledge it when Obama concedes. I will **never** accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/49 "2012-11-01T16:51:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I would say that if he “unconcedes” before the certification, then OK. I’ll accept his unconcession as cancelling out his concession. I’ve searched the Constitution, and can find no mention of concession.. I know many states mandate that electors vote.in accord with the popular vote (within the state). Are there any state laws that reference concession? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/50 "2012-11-01T16:56:20Z")
None. It’s simply etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/51 "2012-11-01T16:58:13Z")
The retarded half of the country that still whine and cry about 2000 will never let it go and in 2074 they’ll still be blaming everything on Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/52 "2012-11-01T17:23:41Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > None. It’s simply etiquette. Fuck etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/53 "2012-11-01T17:26:44Z")
Since I will pay very little attention on the night of the election and still go to bed at my normal time, I expect that by the time I know who won _the next morning_, it will be all over and done with. I accept it when it happens. Refusing to accept what is doesn’t change reality. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/54 "2012-11-01T17:28:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > For those who think it’s impossible for Romney to win, would you advise Obama to stop all campaign activity? Ha ha. Any calculation of Obama’s odds includes the ground game. He doesn’t pull a no-show, like he did in the first debate. He follows through. Otherwise, Mittpocalypse. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/55 "2012-11-01T17:29:21Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > The retarded half of the country that still whine and cry about 2000 will never let it go and in 2074 they’ll still be blaming everything on Bush. I’m still blaming Reagan! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/56 "2012-11-01T17:34:52Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > I’m still blaming Reagan! I’m still blaming Ulysses S. Grant! ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/57 "2012-11-01T17:37:24Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > I’m still blaming Reagan! That makes two of us. Goddamn criminal. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/58 "2012-11-01T17:44:35Z")
Kind of stuck on what “accept” means. Does it mean I shrug and say “Well, fair and square, they won.” when “fair and square” was the one thing the Pubbies worked so hard to avoid? From the national Stomp Out the Vote campaign, to various shenanigans with early voter rules, the Pubbies have shown they have no shame whatever when it comes to elections. Obama not only has to win, he has to win so convincingly that he covers the “cheat spread”. Nate Silver has that at about one to two percent dropoff from voter suppression drives. If he’s right, and I guess he knows his shit, that’s one or two percent Obama has to get _extra_! Now, of course, if he does manage to overcome all the lies, cheating and money to win anyway, I’ll probably accept that. If “giggling fits” counts as “acceptance”. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/59 "2012-11-01T17:44:41Z")
Did anyone double check those ballots cast for Washington in Prince George’s County, Maryland. I was always suspicious that PGC didn’t go quite the way the exit polls indicated. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542/60 "2012-11-01T17:45:56Z")
Fuckin’ Columbus started this whole fuckin’ mess. Dick! And don’t even get me started on those bearing straight crossin’ assholes :mad: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-will-it-take-for-you-to-accept-a-romney-win/639542.md?page=4)