# How worried about the election are you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 1, 2020, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514 "2020-11-01T23:58:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/82 "2020-11-02T16:33:20Z")
My thoughts are more optimistic. I don’t think it’s fun for him anymore and, just maybe, he’s looking for an exit. He’s reached ‘cheering crowd’ celebrity status and will always be worshipped in red states. I bet he can live with that. That and blowing his mouth to rile up his crowd for shits and giggles, along with an endless assault of conspiracy theories and utter stupidity, which they all continue to lap up. He’s shifted his residence to Florida so his assets, like OJ, seem untouchable. I’m thinking they’ve all had plenty of time to inside trade, sell off influence and assets. Pretty much stripping every dime they could out of the public purse, by hook and by crook. And while the rest of the country holds its breath in fear, they’re busy wreaking havoc, destroying records, in every department, so what they’ve been up to is WAY too impossibly chaotic to unravel. And he’s loving the press winding everybody up, then he just waltz’s out and waves Goodbye! Retires to Mara Lago and golfs. I think this is a real possibility. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/83 "2020-11-02T16:35:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > By my read, Biden has a lock on 335 Electoral College votes. Trump has 163 and 40 are too close to call. I sure hope you’re right. 335 should put things out of the range of the lawyers and courts disputing anything. I fear it will get tighter than that tough. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/84 "2020-11-02T16:36:21Z")
The cuff on my sphygmomanometer just burst. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/85 "2020-11-02T16:46:30Z")
Will there be a surge of panic shopping on or around Election Day? Will the shelves be stripped bare? Is it happening already? SHOULD I BE DOING MY PANIC GROCERY SHOPPING TODAY? (I’m talking about foodstuffs. I’ve already got plenty of toilet paper.) Is it already too late? NEED ANSWER FAST! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/86 "2020-11-02T16:52:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The cuff on my sphygmomanometer just burst. 😆 Thanks for that. I needed it. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/87 "2020-11-02T16:56:07Z")
Was 2016 _ **that** _ horrifying to watch? I was indeed surprised and found it very surreal and weird, but people talk about Election Night 2016 as if they went into a doctor’s office for a routine checkup and got told “You have cancer.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/88 "2020-11-02T16:57:49Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > people talk about Election Night 2016 as if they went into a doctor’s office for a routine checkup and got told “You have cancer.” That’s exactly what it was like. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/89 "2020-11-02T17:01:25Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > but people talk about Election Night 2016 as if they went into a doctor’s office for a routine checkup and got told “You have cancer.” That seems pretty accurate. The fact that enough Americans would vote for someone so unqualified, unethical, and stupid was a shock, absolutely. I think we’ll get rid of Trump tomorrow, but the root problem remains. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/90 "2020-11-02T17:06:26Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Will there be a surge of panic shopping on or around Election Day? Will the shelves be stripped bare? Is it happening already? > > SHOULD I BE DOING MY PANIC GROCERY SHOPPING TODAY? (I’m talking about foodstuffs. I’ve already got plenty of toilet paper.) Is it already too late? NEED ANSWER FAST! You might want to stock up on your favorite kind of alcohol. ---
**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 2, 2020, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/91 "2020-11-02T17:06:26Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The fact that enough Americans would vote for someone so unqualified, unethical, and stupid was a shock, absolutely. I think we’ll get rid of Trump tomorrow, but the root problem remains. I comfort myself with the knowledge that more people voted for Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. The American voters weren’t dumb enough to elect George W. Bush or Donald Trump. We just need to have a system that lets the voters decide who becomes President. We could call it “democracy”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/92 "2020-11-02T17:10:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I comfort myself with the knowledge that more people voted for Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. “More” is good. But 40% of the voters, give or take, have such a vastly different view of what this country should be like, it’s depressing. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/93 "2020-11-02T17:19:39Z")
I was legitimately shocked. I thought Americans were a lot more patriotic and loved their country too much to hand it over to such an obvious conman. Trump talking about shooting people on 5th avenue, 2nd amendment solutions, not having an election and declaring him the winner, asking Russia for help, and the list goes on and on. I really thought any one of those cost Trump the election. I was very wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/94 "2020-11-02T17:22:15Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Was 2016 _ **that** _ horrifying to watch? I was indeed surprised and found it very surreal and weird, but people talk about Election Night 2016 as if they went into a doctor’s office for a routine checkup and got told “You have cancer.” > [@kayaker](#): > > That’s exactly what it was like. When I woke up the morning after election day, I felt EXACTLY the same grief and terror in my body that I felt the day after my husband died 16 years previously. I am not exaggerating. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/95 "2020-11-02T17:24:59Z")
> [@CoconutPete](#): > > I have to admit on a gut level, I keep thinking Trump is going to win, I feel like this is 2016, the redux. I don’t know about this. In 2016 he ran the perfect campaign against a candidate many people hated and who ran the worst campaign since Dewey. Already Trump is losing the key states he needs to win like Pennsylvania and Michigan. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/96 "2020-11-02T17:25:19Z")
> [@Skypist](#): > > It would be awesome if Biden could flip my state, Texas, and pick up the 38 electoral college votes for a cushion of sorts, but that’s probably going to be close but no cigar. You are correct. Republicans are not being subtle anymore; They are actively trying to get votes literally thrown away. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/97 "2020-11-02T17:26:19Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Was 2016 _ **that** _ horrifying to watch? I was indeed surprised and found it very surreal and weird, but people talk about Election Night 2016 as if they went into a doctor’s office for a routine checkup and got told “You have cancer.” Tomorrow will tell if it’s metastasized or if it’s in remission. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/98 "2020-11-02T17:29:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > When I woke up the morning after election day, I felt EXACTLY the same grief and terror in my body that I felt the day after my husband died 16 years previously. I am not exaggerating. Wow, I totally believe it (and I’m sorry for your loss). For me, the closest feeling (and, like you, I do include physical, short- and long-term bodily reactions) I could compare it to was that following 9-11. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/99 "2020-11-02T17:31:11Z")
> [@CastletonSnob1](#): > > Copy-pasted from a Reddit thread, which was copy-pasted from an article. Moderating: Too long to quote. Even if it was illegally quoted in full, we don’t allow that on this board. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/100 "2020-11-02T17:33:37Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Wow, I totally believe it (and I’m sorry for your loss). > For me, the closest feeling (and, like you, I do include physical, short- and long-term bodily reactions) I could compare it to was that following 9-11. Thanks. I can definitely see that it was like the 911 emotional terror and upheaval. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514/101 "2020-11-02T17:36:06Z")
OK, here is where I must differ and say that though I was very unpleasantly surprised and pissed off I was **not** so existentially horrified at the 2016 result. More like, “goddamn, she could not close it and the motherf----r pulled it off with all the SOBs!” Then again it probably was a matter of knowing that yes it could happen and that no, we’re not exceptional about this sort of thing. Parts of the after-election Chappelle/Rock SNL sketch about “election night with the liberals” rang right with me: hell yes this country is capable of this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worried-about-the-election-are-you/924514.md?page=6)