Manhattan's Mood: And We're Back!!

The Mac is definitely not back and less than 12 hours after Obama's win, it was clear Manhattan's mood had lifted like a successful launch at Cape Canaveral. Gone was the fear of finding moose burgers on menus and hearing sentence structure so mangled that Strunk and White seemed the perfect housewarming gift for an incoming VP.

My lethargy on Election Day had manifested itself with exhaustion so extreme I had to take naps with MSNBC as background noise. Curiously enough, others equally fearful of a McCain-Palin win expressed feelings of depression and despair too. But the minute results were posted, poof when the cloud hanging over my head and the Xanax got moved to the back of the medicine cabinet. I had experienced a miracle without having to visit Lourdes or crawl up sacred steps on my knees.

Treating myself and a good friend to $38 Cobb salads at Michael's was worth the price of every lettuce leaf at Manhattan's epicenter restaurant because I needed to take the pulse of the city albeit in a microcosmic way. It was my first meal of the new era - and it didn't disappoint.

The atmosphere was buoyant and so unlike my lunch a few weeks ago when the same restaurant gave off the vibe you were savoring the last gimlet on the deck of the Titanic with not a lifeboat in sight.

Every pundit from Mary Matalin and Jim Carville to Charlie Rose worked the room and though my suspicion is that most of the media seers and soothsayers will go back on the shelf for another few years one could imagine a few deals being worked on over the massive plates of french fries; Barack Obama's power broker- dealer Bob Barnett dined with the married pundits and Charlie Rose took his whole team of producers to lunch to celebrate and told me, "the whole world is celebrating with us." Fox mingled with CNBC and Bloomberg with CNN. All was right once more.

NBC's Jeff Zucker lunched with Goldman's Lloyd Blankfein and even Lazard's Bruce Wasserstein looked like he might smile. The famous Texan, Joe Armstrong and I hugged like we'd just survived a Category 5 hurricane - which in fact we had.

New York doesn't do unhappy well. We wear our emotions out loud and share private thoughts with strangers when packed in subways or on line at the deli. For months we've struggled with a lousy economy, pink slips and fear of what would happen to us if the Republicans made it to the big house - feeling that we had become the bad guys had us on the run.

But in one blast of news heralding our new leader-elect, New Yorkers were back and the only Mac you'll now find is on a menu at a fast food restaurant.

(And by the way, I don't expect to be invited to the wedding of the Palin girl if in fact it ever happens now that Mom doesn't have use of the Rose Garden and Neiman Marcus has probably canceled her credit cards.)

Comments

[johnie2xs]

ISN'T IT AMAZING WHAT A LITTLE HOPE AND FAITH WILL DO. I've had a radio show for the last 22 months, coinciding almost to the day, with the launch of Obama's campaign run. I came to him late, having initially backed John Edwards, but I'm one happy camper now. This man could not be a better antidote to the past "28"yrs. That's right "28 yrs". Ever since Reagan, it has been an incremental down hill slide. Like boiling a frog a degree at a time, the Repuglicans have nearly destroyed this country. Our fat's not totally out of the fire yet, but the prognosis is much, much better.
Let us band together, voice our needs, and help guide Barack to a successful Presidency. And pray for his safety. There's a lot of jealous hatred still alive out there.

[Swedishgal]

Amen to that johni2xs. I, too, came to Obama late after having backed Edwards and worked on his campaign here in Hampton Roads VA which won VA for him! I was so stoked at the election results party I couldn't stand it. Everybody was hugging everybody else, even strangers. The mood has completely changed. It's like the nightmare is almost over. Thank God! We have our country back! Whoo hoo!

[donoevil]

It's interesting hearing you came to Obama late. I'm regretting I didn't do a website predicting the future. My reaction to "W", all I knew was his last name, party affiliation, and his bank accounts were obscenely full of campaign contributions which I guessed were from the oil business, yet he still hadn't announced he was running. I knew we were in for big big trouble, but never guessed how big.

My reaction to BHO, I knew nothing except his name but I was on board because I thought it was an in your face campaign by a Muslim who wanted to use the mic to take em to the woodshed, but would never get elected. I guess I was wrong on almost all that though, darn it.

Agree with the 28 year prognosis.

[Electedbill]

Why did a big newspaper cover-up an assault on a candidate in the 99th NY Assembly election?
Two days before the election, John Degnan, candidate on the Democratic line, was hit by a car driven by a self-proclaimed operative of GOP opponent, Greg Ball.
It happened when Degnan and a helper caught Ball's agent stealing Degnan roadside campaign signs. Police have confirmed the incident, an ambulance was summoned and there's a 911 call.
After Ball's victory, the story was published in a small-circ paper, the "Putnam County Courier." Look the publication up online.
The eye-witness published his account Sunday night in a blog read carefully by local reporters, Yahoo Group Brewster10509.

BUT:
--The state police would not allow Degnan to press charges and refused to ticket the driver who, by the way, had a dozen stolen Degnan signs in his car.
-- The largest regional paper, "The Journal News" knew of the incident Monday morning, but did not publish the story.
-State police stated that stealing campaign signs is legal in New York, as long as the thief swears that the stolen signs were on public property.
--The police stated that although Degnan was struck by the car driven by a person who said he was employed by GOP rival Greg Ball, the officer at the scene determined that Degnan's injuries were not serious enough to warrant citing the driver.

Ok, what journalistic ethic does a newspaper refuse to print this story?

Electedbill in NY

[vigwig]

9/11 put Manhattan into a state of fear and panic. Bush & friends put Manhattan into a state of fear and loathing. Obama released the dark grip of anxiety on our hearts. We might have challenging budget deficits ahead but we also have, finally, hope.

[Hans Meiser]

Betsy,

I absolutely love this part: "My lethargy on Election Day had manifested itself with exhaustion so extreme I had to take naps with MSNBC as background noise"

I felt so much like that, it's incredible. I love the way you put that.

[jhNY]

To eat a $38 salad in a famous restaurant filled with media types is no doubt exhilarating to the starstuck, but in no way is it an accurate method of guaging the mood over Manhattan. For that, you need to go down to city hall and talk to the comptroller about future tax receipts emanating from the Wall Street crowd, lately composed of so many millionaires and now in no wise composed at all, but rather a jumpy, sour bunch of guys and gals prone to flinching.

The death of the financial 'system' which is writhing itself into obscurity by the day will bankrupt the city, at least in the short term, no matter what Bloomberg will own up to on the subject so far. We have no comparable source for revenue, and can hardly expect to grow one overnight, even under the eternal rule of a self-admitted genius. There will be shortfalls in the billions, and services will suffer accordingly. Eventually, there will be massive layoffs in public sector jobs, but not before there are massive layoffs in the private sector, and then the future of the city's finances will become even more dire.

Kindly note I am not promoting this outcome, but am rather reporting on its inevitability. I voted for Obama, and wish him every success, but I'm a citizen of NYC of several decades standing, and I know that the local mood is a bit more storm-tossed and wary than what's portrayed here.

[Swedishgal]

The financial sector did this to itself by getting greedy and its getting its just desserts as a result. I don't really think most people have paid too much attention to the stock after Obama won because, I'm hoping, Wall Street won't be so important in an Obama economy. Main Street is what people are going to be paying attention to now. I hope your dire prediction doesn't come to fruition for your sakes but you have someone on YOURside if it does.