Democratic Dreams of Bush’s Election

During the indecision following the 2000 Presidential election voting on November 7, many people have been so obsessed by it that they not only thought about it all day, but also dreamed about it all night, too.

I have been doing research on dreams and Presidential elections since 1992. I’ve passed out surveys to hundreds of college students, contacted the members of various political organizations, posted requests on electronic bulletin boards, and pestered my friends and neighbors. As you might imagine, I’ve received far more responses this year than I did in either 1992 or 1996. What I have found offers an amusing nocturnal commentary on the waking world’s political turmoil.

First of all, many people simply couldn’t get the election out of their minds when they went to sleep. Numerous people have reported annoyingly recurrent dreams of ballots, voting, flashing TV news reports, counting and recounting votes, and even those notorious chads. One person, a Republican who voted for Bush, told me, “I was talking with someone about pregnant, dimpled, and hanging types of chads, and which should be

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counted as a vote. This dream looped over and over again for most of the night.”

A few people had dreams that use surprisingly biting symbolism to vent feelings of frustration at the bitter electoral contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore. A 38-year-old man from California dreamed, “I was watching two King Vampires battling it out for ownership of the human herd.” A 45-year-old man from Colorado dreamed, “Bush and Gore are pit bulls going at each other, while Ralph Nader walks off into the sunset.”

The most intriguing finding of my research so far is that many more Democrats than Republicans reported election-related dreams. Most of these dreams are nightmares about the prospect of an ultimate Bush victory. Aliens taking over the earth and turning all humans into slaves; terrorists attacking the country with biological weapons; falling into the ocean and being chased by a hungry shark; losing control of a car and driving off a cliff — these are some of the distressing images that filled many Democratic imaginations.

A few Democratic dreamers used rather wicked sarcasm to express their feelings of anger, outrage, and disbelief. Two nights after the election, a 38-year-old woman from Colorado reported, “I remember dreaming about George Bush. He was talking to his mom Barbara. He whined like a two-year-old, saying, ‘But, Mommy — you said I could be President!’” The night of the election an 18-year-old woman from New York dreamed, “I was in my room watching the news on the election and eating chips. Then George W. Bush came into my room and stole my chips! I was surprised and caught off guard.”

The fact that so many more Democrats than Republicans reported election-related dreams may simply reflect the limited scope of my research. Possibly, it also reflects some differences between people who are attracted to Democratic political beliefs and people attracted to Republican political beliefs during the election turmoil, but I would need more data to develop these points. Certainly, many Democrats feel the election was stolen.

There were also “non-partisan” or “bipartisan” dreams, dreams that point to values and virtues beyond the vengeful desire to beat one’s opponent into a bloody pulp.

The night of the election a 26-year-old Democratic woman from New York had this dream: “I’m in a busy NYC street. The polls have closed and everyone is running around. We know that Gore has lost. I see Gore, crying. He looks exhausted, disheveled. Tipper helps him walk, and I ask her, ‘Does he want anything to eat? Or drink? Anything?’ She says, ‘No, sweetheart. That’s OK’.” Here is a dream that goes beyond expressing bitter outrage at the winner to show a deep sense of compassion and consideration for the loser. How many people have given even a second’s thought to the emotional suffering this election has caused the candidates and their families?

A couple of nights before the election, a 43-year-old woman from Pennsylvania, an ardent Democrat who was anxiously bracing herself for an actual Bush victory, dreamed this: “I am with George W. Bush, going with him through a breakfast buffet line in a large auditorium. We sit next to each other and eat together. As we’re chatting, I realize that he’s really not a bad guy. The idea that he’s not utterly without character brings me relief.” Such an image of political reconciliation had little parallel in the waking world. Immediately after the election, the possibility of a reunited country seemed to be nothing but a dream.

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