[This column is copyright by the Des Moines Register and is reproduced here as "fair use" for educational purposes only.]

John Kerry supporters ought to be. They lost. Looking down the road, they see more wars, possibly fought with draftees, more global disrespect, punished by more global hostility toward America. They fear weakened environmental regulations and reproductive choices, and grandkids' futures mortgaged to pay for wealthy people's tax cuts.Instead of bringing an end to those policies, the election appeared to give them a mandate.

As for President Bush's supporters, they're supposed to gloat. (In baseball, victorious fans even throw in a little looting for good measure.) But why are they mad even after getting the White House, the Senate, the House and the Supreme Court?

"How do ya' like them cards?" writes one. "Your boy folded and went home to bawl!! He just got his ass handed to him. Maybe that'll knock some of the arrogance out of him. His presidential aspirations are done. Bill and Hillary will see to that. . . . [John] Edwards will get crapped on the same way. . . . And then we'll ride that [expletive] Hillary out of town on a rail in '08. That should put the country pretty well beyond the grasp of these [expletive] leftists you support. The queers took a good kick in the shorts too. . . . "I heard variations on the theme from the approximately 520 people kind enough to offer me help moving to Canada.

America's divisions are glaring and seemingly impenetrable. You can see them in the votes cast. Bush had whites, voters with high incomes and evangelical Christians. Kerry got most African-Americans, Hispanics, baby boomers and more women than men.

There's a culture war, and it's about how we define values. It's a war between those who think morality means punishing gay people by withholding their rights, and those who judge it by how a government takes care of its vulnerable. Those people wonder, if this election was really about morality, wouldn't it also be about the rights and wrongs of invading the wrong country, advancing human rights at home, and being fairer to underprivileged children and elderly Americans?It's a war between people who support the president because, as one wrote me, he "gets up each day and prays to God for the safety and welfare of this wonderful nation," and those who think religious values should be reflected in economic and civil-rights policies. "Why shouldn't we pay our share of taxes and pay for things that need to be subsidized - education, health care, social programs," wrote an upper-income Iowan who says she didn't need the tax cut she got. "How can we, as Christians, decide that the gay lifestyle is wrong? That Suzy down the street can not have an abortion (when we do not know the circumstances)? Does God not say we should not judge lest we be judged?"There's also a war between Americans who think it's appropriate to tell the rest of the world what to do, and those who favor humility and global respect.

Those who won but remain mad think the rest of us should just see things their way. But how can you if you're gay? Several of my gay friends - professionals, exemplary citizens, family members - feel devastated. They saw the Republican strategy of getting Bush voters to the polls in 11 states by putting constitutional amendments against same-sex marriage on the ballots.How can you support the agenda if you're elderly and can't afford health care? Or if you're not Christian?

For those people, leaving America isn't an option or a solution. So, some say the election has motivated them to get involved. "I'm not going to be the 'polite' Democrat of the past," writes one. "We Democrats need to [get mad] and be more vocal."

Politics isn't just about values. It's also about organizing constituencies, and Democrats need to get savvier about that, as religious conservatives have been. Operation Rescue, the radical right-to-life organization, actually takes credit for Bush's Ohio victory, saying it campaigned heavily there on his behalf. Now it's calling on him to appoint anti-abortion federal and Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe vs. Wade.Progressives built coalitions in the 1960s and '70s, but then got complacent. The Democratic Party has agonized over whether to go after the base or swing voters, and lost ground with both. Twice now, in nominating candidates palatable to the middle, Democrats chose men who seemed to lack a single coherent message and the firepower to deliver it.

So what next? People who care need to organize. Reach out to youth, who largely failed to turn out Tuesday. Bring in the elderly, people of color, women, the poor, immigrants and the growing legion of others left off the agenda. Build alliances between unlikely groups. Demand balance to the airwaves where right-wing talk radio has a monopoly that shapes people's views. Make global awareness part of the public dialogue.And be ready in 2008.