The Day After
Wednesday, 5 November 2008 19:27![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dr_phil_physicsMcCain
His 11-o'clock-ish concession speech was the height of civility, thoughtfulness and historical context. Where the hell has the McCain of 2000 been this election cycle? This McCain might've won the election.
Obama
His midnight-ish acceptance speech managed to start off right where John McCain ended. Pundits talk of a place for McCain in an Obama administration. Other pundits point to this being an Obama victory and not necessarily a Democratic Party victory. Reaching across the aisle? What the hell is this man thinking? (grin)
We watched quite a number of channels last night, and was amused to see C-SPAN2 carrying the CBC feed from Canada. They were trying to explain how the U.S. President really isn't like the Canadian Prime Minister. Why, reporters even stand when the President comes into the room. Respect the office, if not the man. Huh.
Biden
Congratulations, Joe, on retaining your Senate seat from Delaware. What? Oh? Never mind.
Palin
More than one commentator said, as I thought, too, that Governor Palin looked to be on the verge of tears last night. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not going to try to read anything into it. But I will say there was more of a play on honest emotions on her face tonight than I'd seen in many a campaign appearance.
Many suggest Palin will be a big player come 2012, but I'm not so sure. A lot of unhappiness amongst voters against recent Republican politics. Not sure Sarah Palin is the sort of conservative that conservatives really want, when you get down to details.
Blue Dawn
It's a blue countryside out there. At least here in West Michigan, though with the high haze it's sort of pale wan blue sky.
What? What did you think I was talking about?
Red Sea
As the evening wore on last night, and they were commenting that all of New England had no more Republican members of the House of Representatives, I kept on seeing the Great Red Sea dividing the nation -- one line of states from North Dakota down to Texas, the only unbroken line of one color across the country in any direction.
Purple
In reality, the country is still pretty damned purple. Obama won the Electoral College numbers bigtime, and won a majority in the popular vote totals, too -- nice to see the next President get both numbers like that for a change -- but percentagewise, it's not a huge "mandate". The country, whether by geography or politics, is still heavily divided, and the election was clearly strongly influenced by the economic problems.
Despite the happy faces wracked with joy in Chicago's Grant Park last night, there are others out there who are loading up on their guns or otherwise about to cough up their vitriol.
Michelle
To whit, on WOOD-AM's Rick and Scott Show this morning, one caller said that Michelle Obama had better be sent off to school to take classes in etiquette and loyalty (presumably to the country) -- that she "looks like a militant". WTF is that supposed to mean?
And I thought the right wingnuts hated Hillary.
Grow Up
This doesn't strike me as the time to gloat, seek revenge, ramrod stuff through government, spew hate or arm oneself for the coming revolution. On any side.
I mean, we once again have the opportunity to show the world that we can have extreme disagreements and an orderly change of power -- just like the Framers of the Constitution intended.
And the world's eyes are indeed on us.
Dr. Phil
His 11-o'clock-ish concession speech was the height of civility, thoughtfulness and historical context. Where the hell has the McCain of 2000 been this election cycle? This McCain might've won the election.
Obama
His midnight-ish acceptance speech managed to start off right where John McCain ended. Pundits talk of a place for McCain in an Obama administration. Other pundits point to this being an Obama victory and not necessarily a Democratic Party victory. Reaching across the aisle? What the hell is this man thinking? (grin)
We watched quite a number of channels last night, and was amused to see C-SPAN2 carrying the CBC feed from Canada. They were trying to explain how the U.S. President really isn't like the Canadian Prime Minister. Why, reporters even stand when the President comes into the room. Respect the office, if not the man. Huh.
Biden
Congratulations, Joe, on retaining your Senate seat from Delaware. What? Oh? Never mind.
Palin
More than one commentator said, as I thought, too, that Governor Palin looked to be on the verge of tears last night. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not going to try to read anything into it. But I will say there was more of a play on honest emotions on her face tonight than I'd seen in many a campaign appearance.
Many suggest Palin will be a big player come 2012, but I'm not so sure. A lot of unhappiness amongst voters against recent Republican politics. Not sure Sarah Palin is the sort of conservative that conservatives really want, when you get down to details.
Blue Dawn
It's a blue countryside out there. At least here in West Michigan, though with the high haze it's sort of pale wan blue sky.
What? What did you think I was talking about?
Red Sea
As the evening wore on last night, and they were commenting that all of New England had no more Republican members of the House of Representatives, I kept on seeing the Great Red Sea dividing the nation -- one line of states from North Dakota down to Texas, the only unbroken line of one color across the country in any direction.
Purple
In reality, the country is still pretty damned purple. Obama won the Electoral College numbers bigtime, and won a majority in the popular vote totals, too -- nice to see the next President get both numbers like that for a change -- but percentagewise, it's not a huge "mandate". The country, whether by geography or politics, is still heavily divided, and the election was clearly strongly influenced by the economic problems.
Despite the happy faces wracked with joy in Chicago's Grant Park last night, there are others out there who are loading up on their guns or otherwise about to cough up their vitriol.
Michelle
To whit, on WOOD-AM's Rick and Scott Show this morning, one caller said that Michelle Obama had better be sent off to school to take classes in etiquette and loyalty (presumably to the country) -- that she "looks like a militant". WTF is that supposed to mean?
And I thought the right wingnuts hated Hillary.
Grow Up
This doesn't strike me as the time to gloat, seek revenge, ramrod stuff through government, spew hate or arm oneself for the coming revolution. On any side.
I mean, we once again have the opportunity to show the world that we can have extreme disagreements and an orderly change of power -- just like the Framers of the Constitution intended.
And the world's eyes are indeed on us.
Dr. Phil
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no subject
Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 20:27 (UTC)We were discussing this with a Canadian at WFC, (myself and another writer recently moved from California who lives in the red stack). There are a lot of reasons that the red stack is red, one of them being that the economy here just isn't that bad. I paid 1.85 for gas yesterday, don't know where to find a single foreclosure, and the job market here is actually quite sound. No, it's not perfect here, but it's also difficult for red-stackers to understand what the outsides of the country are suffering...
In addition, I will say that Oklahoma and Texas bear a large part of the troop-load out in Iraq and Afganistan. (California and Indiana are somewhat higher numbers-wise, but per capita, OK was the highest earlier this year (we just had some of the 95th come back last month). (And I suspect Puerto Rico is actually higher per capita, but it's not a state, and isn't reflected in the 'state' figures)). I think a lot of people felt that JM would treat veterans and troops better than BO.
I live in the reddest state, BTW. 66% McCain. These people have no intention of dividing the nation. Things are just different here. ;o) (That's what we discussed at WFC.)
no subject
Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 20:44 (UTC)Silly me, I grew up thinking the South was Democratic, too.
Dr. Phil
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Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 20:54 (UTC)It was an interesting conversation. Regarding the fly-over state mentality, the Canadian asked "Do the people in the middle hate the people on the outsides?" The person from California (just moved to Dallas) fielded that with "No, the people in the middle just don't care what the people on the outside think." Which, judging by the people I know here....is kinda true...
I grew up in El Paso--and I'm still surprised that NM went blue.
no subject
Date: Thursday, 6 November 2008 02:47 (UTC)Dr. Phil
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Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 20:35 (UTC)Fortunately, Obama was a tougher candidate than Kerry.
And I'm not saying that I want Palin to be a factor, but she has a great deal of unthinking, blind support from the same rank-and-file GOP voters who supported Bush Jr. Until someone else gets the 2012 Republican presidential nod and/or Palin pulls herself from consideration, I reluctantly see her as a prospective Republican candidate for 2012.
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Date: Wednesday, 5 November 2008 20:41 (UTC)Dr. Phil
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Date: Thursday, 6 November 2008 03:08 (UTC)I just got of the phone with a friend in Alabama. We were talking about the election and I asked if he'd gotten home from a dinner in time to see McCain's speech. He had not, but had seen a few clips from it today. My comment to him was that if the McCain that gave the concession speech had been the one running these past few months, he might very well have been the winner. But it wasn't, so he isn't.
And I wouldn't worry too much about Mrs. President-Elect...I've seen her on many a daytime talk show and if she can hold her own against the View Crew, I think she'll do alright when up against the wing-nutz. Many, especially conservative men, are uncomfortable (read scared) of smart, well-educated, powerful, no-nonsense women, regardless of their color. Oh, and Michelle's a hands-on MOM to round out the whole picture! Terrifying!!
And the best comment of last night came from NBC's Tom Brokaw right after Obama's speech. They're talking about having little kids in the White House again and housebreaking a puppy in all that. Tom sez, yeah, housebreaking the puppy is one thing Obama will have to do, the other is housebreak his new Democratic Congress!
Georgia disappointed a lot of people by staying stubbornly red. And, as a special prize, we get six more weeks of dirty, slimy, muddy nastiness because we have to have a runoff between the Senate candidates. UHGGHH! The Republican incumbent pulled out the 9/11 Patriot card, complete with images from Ground Zero still burning, over the weekend, which just made my blood boil. You wouldn't show a cemetery in a campaign ad, don't desecrate Ground Zero by doing it. If he pulls that ad back out for the run off I will fire off a real letter to him.
no subject
Date: Thursday, 6 November 2008 03:50 (UTC)It's America's house all right. Right down to the doggie pee on the carpets.
Dr. Phil