One thing that you said in passing struck me as something many of us are forgetting now:
But these most definitely are NOT ordinary times.
They haven't been ordinary since 9/11, and I doubt that they're going to go back to "ordinary" again for some time. Perhaps Bush has been too successful in restoring confidence and getting us back to more or less normal again, and we've forgotten.
But if we don't realize this and stop squabbling and get Bush and a bunch of good solid GOP senators in, then I think we're going to be in for a much rougher ride much sooner than we expected. The entire world is waiting to pounce on us if we stumble, and we'd do more than stumble with a Kerry - we'd fall flat on our faces, and we'd be fair game for the wolf pack.
Maybe that's a little apocalyptic of me, but I really see this election as something of crucial importance to our continued future.