November 2nd, 2004 arrived in the United States. Over 105 million Americans came to the polls and voted. However, by the end of the day, neither Senator John Kerry nor President George W. Bush had conceded the U.S. presidency. Nor had either Kerry or Bush accepted the keys to the White House, though Bush was starting to feeling a little more comfortable in his West Wing chair.

Where the 2000 election came down to Florida, it looks like the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election will come down to Ohio.

Senator John Edwards came to the podium at Copley Square in Boston at 11:29 pm (PT) / 2:29 am (ET) and told the crowd that they would fight for every vote.

At 12:05 am (PT) the major TV networks were not in agreement.

FOX took a risk in calling Ohio. They projected that Ohio has gone in Bush's favor.

By the end of the day, with 98% of the precincts' votes counted Bush had earned 2,730,009 votes (51%) in Ohio while Kery had earned 2,600,056 (49%).

Even if Bush does not win Ohio, he could still win the election if he were to get Wisconsin and Iowa and either Nevada or New Mexico.

Dan Rather of CBS News repeatedly said, "We'd rather be last than be wrong." By the beginning of Wednesday, CBS had estimated that Bush had earned 254 electoral votes where Kerry had earned 242.

ABC had estimated that Bush had earned 254 electoral votes where Kerry had earned 225. The difference, in this case, was that ABC had not yet called Michigan in Kerry's favor.

CNN had estimated that Bush had earned 254 electoral votes to Kerry's 252.

FOX had estimated that Bush had earned 269 electoral votes where Kerry had earned 242.

In the wee hours of the morning on Wednesday, the mood at the White House brightened noticeably as the critical state of Florida fell Bush's way -- thanks in great part to W's brother, Jeb Bush.

The Governor of Florida, whose approval rating is 80%, stayed in his home state last night while the rest of his family gathered at The White House.

George W., First Lady Laura, the president's parents, George Sr. "41" and Barbara joined together in the West Wing sitting room with W's daughters Barbara and Jenna, W's siblings Doro Koch, Neil Bush and his wife Maria, nephew Sam LeBlond and family friend, Lois Betts.

Ohio, a key make-or-break state, received presidential visits thirty-three times during Bush's term.

On Tuesday's final pre-election stop, Bush went as far as to make personal calls to pursuade voters to go to the polls and vote for him. "I promise it's me," he told a doubting supporter on the other line.

Hearing this, reminded me of the day George Sr. called to ask my dad to play golf. My mother's reaction: "Yeh right, Brad, George Bush, nice try (believing it was her son pulling another bag job on her)." Fortunately, "41" was not only gracious about it, like his son, he is used to it.

In Ohio, "43" the 43rd President of the United States got off the phone yesterday, turned to reporters and said, "One to nothing!"

By early morning on Wednesday, the actual popular vote tally was 57,591,679 (51%) to Bush vs. 53,994,022 (48%) to Kerry.

The Independent, Ralph Nader had only 387,190 supporters casting their vote in his favor.

Yesterday, Bush set an all-time record for votes gathered in a presidential race. He breaks Reagan's previous record.

George W. Bush is the first president since his father in 1988 to get 50% of the vote.

At the White House tonight, Bush said "I believe I will win."

Three Other Too Close To Call States

At the end of the day on Tuesday, New Mexico had reported 52% of the vote to Bush and 47% to Kerry -- with 96% of the precincts having reported their numbers. 50% of the state's absentee ballots were not yet part of the tally.

Currently, Bush leads by 3,626 with 322,112 votes to Kerry's 318,486.

In Wisconsin, with 97% of the precincts reporting, less than 15,000 votes were the difference between Kerry winning the state or Bush. CBS called it "Florida Close."

Currently, Kerry has a 12,636 vote lead with 1,448,891 votes to Bush's 1,436,255 votes.

In Iowa, 99% of the precincts' votes were in, however, they had stopped counting for the night. 50% (737,062) are reporting in Bush's favor and 49% (723,018) in Kerry's. Bush currently leads by 14,044.

Bush is the projected winner in Nevada with another five electoral votes likely going his way. With 100% of the precincts counted, 51% of the tally goes to Bush vs. 48% to Kerry.

Ohio, the key state for Kerry to win, is undecided by most of the networks, because of the question over provisional ballots. These ballots involve voters whose names did not show up on a registration list but were allowed to vote anyway.

Just after midnight, The Wall Street Journal arrived at our doorstep.

Two headlines related to the election read: "Bush and Kerry In Close Race Amid Big Turnout" and "For the Winner, a U.S. Economy With Some Stubborn Problems."

Meanwhile, the Daily News headline reads: "DEJA VOTE All Over Again ... Feels Like 2000 as White House fight rages in battleground states."

And The New York Times November 3, 2004 headline reads: "Voter Surveys Show Bush and Kerry Locked In Race With Large Turnout."

"New voters surged for Kerry," the paper said, "and Bush held on to what he got in 2000."

Except for New Hampshire, Bush has held the same states as he did in the last presidential election against Gore.

In Singapore, the US dollar was slightly firmer in Asian trading on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the tightly contested US presidential elections, analysts said. Analysts added that the dollar is expected to remain locked in a narrow range against the world's major currencies with investors preferring to wait for the results of the U.S. presidential elections where opinion polls showed President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry running neck-and-neck.

By the time the markets open this morning, we hope Wall Street looks favorably on the direction the election is going.

With a prayer breakfast starting in less than five hours here in San Francisco, this is the Republican / Democratic campaign headquarters of Rugged Elegance calling it a day.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful and "Bringing Home the Buckeye" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King