WTF Has Obama Done So Far?

WTF? Oh, wait, of course. It's not enough.

OK, I'm really going to try to move on after this post. Might work. Might not.

Well, We Knew It Would Be Bad

Image via WikipediaMid-term election over - check. Bloodbath for House Dems - check. I'm looking for bright spots.

One is that here in New York we didn't do too badly if you don't count the State Senate. We'll have Andrew Cuomo for Governor. That could be good. I just hope he doesn't crash and burn like the last two. Eliot Spitzer was practically coronated rather than elected and most people were delighted and then...well, you probably heard something about how that turned out. Thing is, even before the hooker problem arose he was busy not getting along with anyone. That's fine in a crusading Attorney General. Not great in a Governor. Then when David Patterson replaced him almost everyone, on both sides of the aisle, seemed pretty pleased. Turns out he was just great as a legislator, but the executive branch really wasn't his best thing. Still, Cuomo's been impressive and he might have a more political mentality than Spitzer. One can only hope.

We also returned out Democratic Senators and our House Rep as well. Actually, I'm not sure of the name of the Republican who opposed our Congressman, so he didn't run a particularly stellar race, I'm guessing. On the other hand, in the CD next door, Tim Bishop had more of a fight on his hands. He's quite progressive and is always a GOP target. He won and his campaign should be a lesson to everyone. His opponent had an achilles heel. He 's a businessman and he had, apparently, been an outsourcing enthusiast. And that's all you heard about him from the Bishop campaign. It was all I knew about the guy by the end of the campaign season. Negative campaigning? You bet. But it was a clear message and it spoke to the concerns of the vast majority of the electorate in a way that they could understand. No wonkery required. I hope someone takes note of it for the next time around.

Another compensation is that at least there'll be someone besides Democrats for the progressive media to attack. We sure do know how to depress our own vote. That's one reason why I stopped reading almost every blog and forum I loved during the Bush years. Stopped blogging politics, too.  Obama hadn't even unpacked before the circular firing squad formed around him. Maybe - just maybe - they can turn the guns around just a bit now? I hope so, but I'm definitely not going back to living and breathing politics. I'm too old to spend all of what time is left just raising my own blood pressure. (That's more a resolution than anything else, but I'm hoping to keep it.)

Election Day Blues #39

Image via Wikipedia

Oh, it's another Election Day, isn't it? Well, of course we'll vote. I keep getting reminders in e-mail and even an offer to text me a reminder. I don't need a reminder. I may be getting more forgetful, but I have not yet forgotten to vote. I hope they text my son, though. He could possibly forget. I think I'll text him. That should get his attention. I don't text. It's not even included in my plan. None of us need the help that's been widely offered in getting to our polling place either. It's at the same school, right around the corner, where we've voted forever.

We've changed out voting system for this year after using the mechanical lever method since time immemorial. We got to practice in the primaries. There's a paper ballot and you just fill in a circle and thereby indicate your choice. . That seemed simple enough. Then it gets scanned into the system and with a little luck it gets counted properly. Some people object to the new method because there is less privacy. Instead of a booth with a curtain to pull closed you're just sort of partially shielded. I can see where that could be a big problem. It's not much of an issue for me, personally, though, because we have what I'd call a very low drama polling place. The poll workers are helpful, but they have to keep an eye on the donut supply. The place is never packed. I think the longest line I ever encountered had three people ahead of me and that was a year when things were really crazy. I do wonder what percentage of people around here vote. I don't think I've ever run into one of our near neighbors at the polls. What are the odds of that in the course of thirty-five plus years?

So, I know we'll vote. What I don't know is if we'll be glued to CNN watching returns this time. I'm guessing we won't. I don't think any of us can take it anymore. And of course, the predictions aren't great for our side. The 2004 Presidential election sent my mother to the hospital and, just a little less directly, into a final decline. I'm not quite ready for a final decline. There are people who still require my services around here. I hope your voting experience goes smoothly. And I hope that a lot of those poll are wrong.

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• Why it can be rational to vote (stat.columbia.edu)
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Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear - well attended. One sign says, "I doubt this will change your opinion." Obviously a sane person right there. 

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• Live Blog: 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear' (thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com)