Post-Election Ramblings

It’s over. I can’t believe it. Eight years. Eight years of having all of my beliefs thrown in my face by George Bush. Eight years of “faith-based” initiatives, a completely irrational war against a country that was never a threat to us, the steady chipping away at constitutional rights, the expansion of a far-right judiciary, crony-run government, rampant anti-intellectualism, you name it.

Words can’t even express how relieved I am. When I hear the words “President-elect Obama,” I still can’t believe it. Somehow I wouldn’t allow myself to believe it could actually happen. After the hideous disappointments of 2000 and 2004, a part of me still refused to believe a Democrat could actually win. Gore should have won in 2000, but he lost due to his own missteps and the Supreme Court (it shouldn’t have come down to a few hundred votes in Florida to begin with). Kerry should have won in 2004 since Bush was a disaster, and Kerry was perfectly presentable. But somehow he let the Republicans Swift-boat our chance away. If a Democrat couldn’t win this year, when could they? If they’d lost, they should’ve just packed up and disbanded.

I almost feel sorry for McCain. He picked the worst year for a Republican to run for president. But he couldn’t wait, could he? He’ll be too old in four years. There wasn’t that much talk about his age, really, but I noticed the only demographic to vote overwhelmingly for McCain was the over-65 group. (I’m sure Obama’s race was a factor there also.) I personally thought that McCain was too old. Another fact about McCain that I never saw mentioned was his height. He’s only 5’ 7”! He’s the same height as me! Do short people ever win the presidency? I think I read an article once that said the taller candidate always wins. This makes sense, because a taller person just looks more presidential, commands more authority. It’s just human nature. In the debates, Obama looked much more presidential than McCain. McCain mainly seemed old and cranky, not to mention disrespectful of Obama, who was never less than courteous.