I did some thank yous yesterday–and again apologize to those I didn’t name, there are so many people who help make NRO what it is. But thank you, too, again for everyone who kept reading–even when exit-poll reporting ticked you off (or who came back later!)–and to all those who sent kind, e-mails–many of them bucked some of us up for the long haul. E-mails like:
I stayed up all night using my new Mozilla Firefox browser. In the tabs, I had FNC, CNN, MSNBC, Drudge, and “The Corner’. The Corner was always a half hour ahead of any of the on-line news services.
and
I just want to add my voice to the others who have said thanks for keeping them sane before and during the election. Your site was the voice of reason in the midst of it all…and may I say that in terms of up-to-the-minute coverage, you blew away any of the mainstream media sites. I should have done this before, but I am now a subscriber and will be back often!
and
I felt it not only an obligation, but a priviledge to thank you and your site for giving me a sense of sanity and calm I really needed. I am a diehard Republican and was for them all the way, I even volunteered for them in my state and gave my all. I was exhausted. As much as I knew we did all we could, I have to admit I was sweating it, panicky. The ups and downs I was hearing was playing havoc on me. I cried when MSNBC called Ohio for Bush and then seconds later Alaska also (I guess it all hit me at once: one of the ups I just mentioned) then the downs of too close to call Ohio, Iowa’s machines breaking down, etc.
A friend told me about your site late election day afternoon and it kept me in check. I stayed up all night watching the polls and staying with you.
One thing I saw totally amazed me. I read a posting that told everyone they were only seeing Kerry/Edwards signs behind the newscasters and no b/c. I’ll be darned if not 20 minutes or less later, the next time they went to those newscasters I saw Bush, Bush, Bush! I just knew it was due to what I had read and I was speechless.
Thank you for letting me share and for being there.
To those new readers: stay for awhile. I think you’ll always find something you’ll like. To old readers: Thanks for the loyalty. To everyone: Much more new stuff coming, and more of your old-time favs, of course. One warning: I fully expect many NRO writers will be sleeping a little this weekend, so cut us some slack, but there’s much more work to do, so it’ll just be a catnap, in the big scheme of things. Thanks again, folks! We appreciate your every e-mail–the positive, the negative, the suggestions, the links, the jokes, you name it–and click more than you know.
And, of course, if you want more National Review analysis and reporting, humor (Rob Long and Mark Steyn in every issue! John Derbyshire and Rick Brookhiser! So many more.) subscribe to National Review. There’s a paper editon of the print magazine, the tradtional way to subscribe and there is now a digital edition, a little over a year old now. A subscription to the print magazine includes digital access. Paper subscription link is here. Digital link is here. You not only get MORE NATIONAL REVIEW if you subscribe, you also support the whole National Review project–which includes, naturally National Review Online, which, because of what it is and where it is and the fact that it is free, has an unprecedented power to evangelize and move mountains…