Exhale
So we held our breath for twenty-two months, twenty-two months of an election that everyone claimed would bore us witless. The exact opposite turned out to be true: it was riveting.
It was difficult for the candidates who ran for office and for the operatives who masterminded the campaigns and for the journalists who reported on them, but it was also difficult for those of us who simply watched, night after night, clutching our remote controls, surfing the web, staying up till two in the morning manipulating the electoral college scenarios. We were hooked on Hardball and fell in love with Rachel Maddow. On Sundays we TiVo'd the political shows and spent most of the day watching them. Sometimes we even watched Fox -- that's how desperate and crazy we became. We were exhausted and exhilarated and we desperately believed that this was the most important election of all time and we would die of grief if Barack Obama didn't win, and to make sure he did win we held our breath.
We held our breath through the conventional wisdom:
Hillary was a done deal. Barack Obama would have to raise his energy level or else. The country would never elect someone so professorial. The Bradley effect was alive and well. Obama was Michael Dukakis all over again. The Reverend Wright was a catastrophic mistake. Michelle Obama was too angry. There would be an October surprise. Israel would bomb Iran. Osama bin Laden would make a videotape. There would be a dirty bomb in a suitcase. Those women from PUMA might matter. The vice-presidential candidate never makes a difference. Obama should have picked Hillary instead. A pitbull in lipstick. Lipstick on a pig. Obama should never have gone to Berlin. Obama should never have gone on vacation to Hawaii. Twemty-seven per cent of the American people thought he was a Muslim. The Republicans would rig the voting machines in Ohio. Everything depended on Pennsylvania. America would never elect a black president.
By the end of the summer we were drained, we were spent, we were maxed out. Then the economy crashed. At that point it was over, but we didn't know it: we continued to hold our breaths through the debates. But the country had made up its mind and the debates didn't matter at all.
Tonight, at eleven o'clock, the endless election ended. It was divine. It was amazing. It was (depending on what commentator you were watching) either "an" historic event, or "a" historic event. And we can breathe again.
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"It was riveting".
Post election is great as well: Palin get thrown under the bus, republicans pointing fingers at each other, state election still undecided, the pressure on Prez-elect Obama on the economy, the changing of people attitudes, the World excited over America victory..e
For eight years, I've woken each morning with my breath held; fearing that upon rising I would hear of another Bush atrocity that would push me close to tears and despair; fearing that our country would be diminished by the fear-mongering and hatred being spread from the administration.
Then, in the past months, weeks, days, I was holding my breath, to see which way the election would go. Now I can breath freely again, awaken each day with a glad heart and hope for the future.
One of my favorite aphorisms is: Hope is to the heart as air is to the lungs.
Obama, a breath of fresh air, balm for the soul, good medicine for America.
It is nice to see this blog from a fellow Wellesley College alum, and I agree with you about how riveting it was to watch history unfold this week.
Karen Jordan
Not all of us voted for BO.I am in despair that he will destroy our country. I hope he proves me wrong but you know as soon as he messes up the media will be on him.
He can't do any worse than Bush.
I hope you can shed your "despair".
Wonder why you sound so sure he'll "mess up" and "destroy our country"? Too much FOX/FAUX News?
Please, do yourself a favor (and the rest of us too) and go read Obama's plans...I mean his actual plan, on his website www.barack
Oh, and by the way, we won't hold it against you for not voting for Obama. Stop feeling bad about that...201
2016...Oba
Well, sorry, rejoyce5..
And, the media is "on him" regardless
But, but.... did you say:
"Destroy our country"?
Are you kidding?! Look at the last 8 Bush years!
Where have you been??
If you have an election for more than twenty-two months, please see a doctor right away, and inform him of any medications you may be taking...
Michael Zamboni
I for one am looking forward to voting for Michelle Obama in 2012.
I for one am looking forward to voting for Barack Obama in 2012.
As long as the media has as much unregulated power as it does over our elections, campaigns will become longer and longer. The ad revenue must be staggering, especially on shows so cheap to produce. What a shameful waste of intellectual energy, time, talent and money.
The next political media creation is already being exploited. NBC's Nightly News (the network news!) gave extensive coverage - the most prolonged segment I ever recall - replete with close-ups - to Sarah Palin's return to Alaska.
Prepare to inhale .. a lot of toxic material.
In addition to the nights my 3 children were born, there are two nights that will be emblazoned in my memory forever.
Nov 3 - being part of the crowd of 90,000 in Manassas, VA. The excitement we all felt waiting for President Obama to appear. I was one of the few with binoculars and people crowded around me - "is that him?....wh
Nov 4 - shortly before 11:00pm, I started to cry and my husband came to sit and embrace me. I glanced up to thank him and I saw his moist eyes.
God Bless America and God Bless the First Family.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Let's keep the Obama message alive and help it GROW!
Well, of course it was "an" historic event. Hot damn, too!
Miss Nora ... you speak for many. When I wake up in the mornings, I no longer have to remind myself to breathe. It's a whole new world.
I've remembered what it feels like to breathe freely again. A delicious feeling, isn't it?
Obama is the greatest man that ever lived, I love him. I want him to be president forever.
works for me.
He's gifted, no question. Greatest man that ever lived? lol Let's talk about that in 2016.
No, you do not understand at all.
Don't be dragging my classmate into this discussion: Billy Crystal.
The last column had to do with Bill Kristol.
Nora, Nora
I can understand about Bill Crystal, but why the pass to Pat Buchanan. I am Irish myself, and I don't forget a grudge. You should ask Ted Koppel what he thinks about Pat.
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