Wednesday Morning

On this Sunday afternoon when darkness is coming early and football is in the air, the last year of political theater seems like a long nightmare that is finally, hopefully over.  It's been pretty distressful, hasn't it?  And embarrassing!  To paraphrase President Gerald Ford....our long national nightmare will be over.  The whole world is watching, and I suspect many are laughing, many are calculating how to take advantage of the situation, and many are saddened that the United States of America has experienced such a travesty.  

We are supposed to be better than what we've experienced.  We're supposed to be the bright, shining beacon of Democracy.  And you know what...we are.  Because on Wednesday morning someone will emerge as the President.  At least I hope that will happen.  We don't need any more hanging chads!  And when it does, we will sweep up all the campaign debris and go on.  Most will turn toward the electee and offer support.  I know I will.  There will be a peaceful transition.  Oh, there may be a few incidents in a few places that the media will exploit, but for the most part most people will breath a sigh of relief and go on.  

I've declared in this space previously that I couldn't vote for either one of them.  They both had monumentally objectionable traits and actions that are, in my mind anyway, disqualifying.  But we are where we are.  So whoever is elected by the majority of the people will have my support.  But I also, in true American spirit, reserve the right to be an active member of the loyal opposition when I can't agree with actions taken by the new President.  That has been the exact case with Obama who quickly lost me as he sought to create division in the country to gain political advantage.  So don't expect me to shut up.  I will continue to spout off when warranted.  Of course, there are only a limited number of people reading this blog, so sometimes I may be talking to myself.  

My most fervent hope is twofold.  First, I hope that whoever is elected will declare early on in words and actions that they will be the President for all the people.  I hope that they will govern from the middle and look to all of the needs of the people in this big, diverse, melting pot of a country.  All situations, all issues, all decisions result in dissatisfaction by someone.  But we should be able to soften blows to the disaffected.  I hope they will reach across the aisle, however difficult that may be, to genuinely achieve things for the American people.   I know that whoever is elected will have to move off of some of their most audacious promises that were made in the heat of the campaign and were designed to win the election.  I don't hold that against them.  Unfortunately that's politics in this day and age.  And we seem to have a population that will respond to self-serving promises no matter how outlandish or impossible to achieve.  Second, I hope the new President will surround themselves with smart, honest, patriotic people who will view the administration as one for all of the people.  We have to attract people to our government who don't think in terms of winners and losers, but rather about what are solutions that can be achieved to make us all better.  I fully recognize that these hopes are naive and likely to not be fulfilled.  But on Wednesday morning, I will hold on to those hopes and move optimistically into the future.