Well, we blew it again. And this time we can’t blame the Electoral College. Three and a half million more people voted for George W. Bush on Tuesday than cast their ballots for John Kerry.

You can’t say they weren’t warned of the consequences: more war, more deficits, and not another word about health-care reform or the environment until the next election.

Former New York City Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday said the issue that got Bush re-elected was leadership — people thought he was the best leader during a time of war abroad and divisiveness at home.

A lot of that is true. But, unfortunately, what it means is that millions of people would rather continue to be led down the wrong path by a "strong’’ leader. They were afraid, apparently, to take a chance on an unproven president who might try to take them back to the right trail — away from unjust wars — with a renewed emphasis on dealing with the material problems of real people.

On the other hand, many observers talk about the president’s support coming on emotional or value issues, such as fear, strength, gay marriage and religion. One of the television ads that helped Bush win in Ohio showed a young girl who had lost a loved one on 9/11 saying she liked the president because he made her feel safe.

Her father may lose his job and health insurance, but she feels safe — especially after watching other ads that had the wolves of terror lurking, ready to pounce, during Kerry’s watch.

That kind of message helps drown the facts: Bush invading another country based on lies and ignorance, running up an enormous deficit, not improving the lot of the average worker and virtually ignoring the health-care crisis.

It was Bush who didn’t get Osama and wholeheartedly fight terrorism because of devoting so many resources to Iraq.

But there’s no point in being bitter. Oneonta and much of the Northeast obviously are out of sync with the majority of the American people. And now we have to face the consequences of what four more years of Bush could mean for our nation.

War. There is no doubt that the Iraq war will proceed now as misguidedly and deadly as ever, especially for Iraqi civilians, 100,000 of whom have died because of the invasion and war.

How long will Americans continue to die? Considering that nearly 1,000 have been killed since "major combat’’ ended a year and a half ago, the prospects are not good with the same guys in Washington calling the shots.

The next question is whether the president will target Iran or Syria for military action if we ever do get out of Iraq. And could that occur without a draft? I don’t see how.

Freedom. The president’s agenda of legislating away many of our liberties can now proceed unfettered, with the Republicans gaining a greater majority in Congress. This assault could include expansion of the infamous Patriot Act and other programs designed to keep tabs on suspicious people, playing off the fear of terrorists.

Also, it is almost certain Bush will be making some Supreme Court appointments during the next four years. As a result, Decisions of the high court will be moving in the direction of limiting personal freedom and extending government authority. For example, the 30-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion will be in grave danger.

With voters in 11 states passing bans on gay marriage Tuesday, the president will feel even stronger about pushing a constitutional amendment to make such a ban federal. Why should people or the government care so much about whether gays get married? The institution they consider so sacrosanct ends in divorce for about half of heterosexual unions.

Health care. The chances of solving the serious problem of accessible and affordable health care died in Ohio on Tuesday. Millions of uninsured people will continue to live on the brink of ruin and the skyrocketing costs of care will continue to climb. The pharmaceutical companies will continue to wield the power that has tens of millions of people on prescription drugs.

Environment. Another loser Tuesday, environmental issues likely will get about as much attention during the next four years as they did the last four. Knowing we won’t be making any progress in extending protections, we can only hope that even with a GOP-dominated Congress further assaults on our forests, wildlife and air will be limited.

I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I’m not going to kill myself. Vice presidential candidate John Edwards talked Wednesday of keeping up the fight. Kerry spoke of healing. Both choices will be tough, but the former is more important than the latter.

If there a light at the end of this dark burrow into which we’ve voted ourselves, it is that there are only four more years. We have to believe that the damage can be controlled and somehow reversed after the Bush reign comes to an end.

Cary Brunswick is managing editor of The Daily Star and can be reached at 432-1000, ext. 217, or cary@thedailystar.com.