Inauguration of George W. Bush
What is that, the wall of your room?
If 40% of the people were content to let the rest decide the election, it would appear that they made a conscious choice to allow others to do the work, and had resolved to abide by the result. This is both dangerous and typical; but at least the race was won by a clear margin.
The clear margin voting for the wrong candidate is not a threat to democracy, or not anywhere near as great a problem it would have been if Kerry had won Ohio. I believe he conceded quickly because he saw the looming Constitutional crisis if he actually won Ohio and Bush refused to give up the office-- both which could reasonably have happened. He demonstrated leadership of a presidential level, if only for a few hours.
But that's why we try to get these kind of people up there to vie for the office, so that the loser, whoever he or she is, is just as qualified as the winner. Kerry showed that he was when he put the Constitution above himself when he had the chance. Will Bush?