Many news articles and columns are describing the election as a huge shift toward the GOP, one that signals the demise of the Democratic Party, if not of democracy itself. While the threat of Trump’s autocratic tendencies has already been made clear by his disgraceful cabinet choices, it is important to emphasize a few facts:

• The popular margin is very narrow, with some reports showing Trump below 50%.
• The Electoral College numbers are, as usual, very misleading, though they are often all that the graphics in news reports show.
• The blue and red maps also mislead. Square miles don’t vote, people do.

There is reason to worry; there is no reason for Republican jubilation or Democratic despair. Some GOP senators are already questioning the cabinet appointments. Sanity may yet raise its head.

Neil Gallagher
Brunswick