Where are the Republicans?

Now that Kerry has conceeded defeat to Bush I wonder how many Republicans I will meet in these next four years. I mention this because in the last four years I met exactly 1 Republican. This has struck me as odd because even though I live in Osaka I did expect to bump into Americans who in some fashion reflect the two major parties. But that didn't happen. It could be that Republicans tend not to travel, or they don't drink, or prefer Tokyo, or were too timid to admit that they support Bush. I suspect the last one, of course I don't know for sure, but they certainly weren't shy when Clinton was president.

I hope I meet a Rupublican in Osaka someday. I mean, if they are going to have a say about events around the world, then they should stand up and identify themselves. This apparent cowardice in voting and then hiding is one of the many troubling trends to emerge since Bush came to power.