Some big misses on Election Day -- and a note of grace

We know pollsters and the national media missed big. An election that many predicted to be a Blue Wave for Democrats turned instead into a nail biter, with Republicans holding onto key U.S. Senate seats and even expanding their position in the House.

Still, at the time I'm writing this, the odds are in former vice-president Joe Biden's favor to be the next President of the United States, thanks to his advantage in mailed ballots. Such ballots turned large leads for President Donald Trump into narrow deficits in the key states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada. If these states decide for Biden, it wouldn't matter if Pennsylvania, Georgia or North Carolina, currently led by Trump but still uncalled, switch to the Democrat through late counting.

Much of the media is pointing out, accurately, that historically, not all votes are counted on Election Day. It's part of the process, and regularly some races turn on late ballots. So President Trump is wrong to call into question the counting of legal and legitimate votes. But the media's limited comparisons to prior year vote counting are at the same time specious. New rules for mailed ballots were created in many states this year outside a Constitutionally defined legislative process, which has led in part to today's turmoil. A less partisan media framing of election concerns would have been beneficial throughout the year, which still doesn't excuse Trump for his inflammatory language. Or for denying the results, if he loses.

Meanwhile, one note of grace that emerged Tuesday night came from Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, who talked about the importance of finding unity in our country.

"We don't know which party will control the Senate," McConnell said. "But some things are certain already. We know grave challenges will remain before us, challenges that could not care less about our political polarization. We know our next president will need to unite the country, even as we all continue to bring different ideas and commitments to the table."

Good luck to McConnell and all our leaders, including our next president, in such an effort. Indeed, our challenges are legion, from the pandemic to race relations to foreign threats to reigniting our economy. In the meantime, may we all be unified in peace and patience, as the process continues to work.

Jon K. Rust is publisher of the Southeast Missourian.