The 2012 US presidential elections weren't as close as I thought they would be. I was going to meet some friends at the FCC for tea but by lunchtime the race had been called by a few news outlets. All the states that I thought would vote blue did so while some of the states I thought would go red surprised me. I was more interested in the Illinois congressional race between Joe Walsh and Tammy Duckworth.
I thought that Romney's concession speech was short, sweet and gracious. I thought that Obama's speech was...weird. SB was disappointed and wished for better manners from the supporters of both parties while I thought everything went as expected. Mitt's supporters were unhappy and can be forgiven for not clapping for the winning team considering that they had pulled in marathon hours to have their hopes shattered. Not the best of manners, but not unexpected. Barack's supporters were euphoric and celebrating their victory so they can also be forgiven for not giving appropriate applause to the beginning of Obama's speech that said nice things about reaching across the aisles. It was also the last lucid part of the speech. Caught up in the moment and possibly functioning on only adrenaline at that point of the night, Obama went on an on about hope, dreams, and happiness ever after..and possibly rainbows and unicorns.
Among other issues resolved last night: potheads can relax in Colorado and Washington but surprisingly not in Oregon. My rugby teammates can get married in Maryland. Elizabeth Warren beat Scott Brown, and not because she is an Indian.
Perusing the Facebook comments I discovered that many of us are obnoxious in victory or defeat. I give a special shout out to several of the residents of Florida. To paraphrase my friend Danielle (speaking to her Floridian relatives), losing an election is not the same thing as losing your liberty. Your racist comments are still protected under the first amendment, though your threats are not. And you are free to move out of the country as you keep threatening, and I wish you would. Just don't move to Hong Kong.
In case you were wondering, I voted for a third party candidate. As a Texas voter I can afford to do so. And no, it wasn't the Objectivist party. I remember thinking that The Fountainhead was the bees knees when I was fifteen but then I reread it in college and discovered that the hero was a rapist, the plot was dazzlingly single minded and the author was a narcissistic hypocrite. So I went with the party that was closest to representing what I believe in. It's good to know that my vote may not have been the most relevant, but it was guided entirely by my principles. In previous years I joined the circus of two party hype to protect the one or two principles that were most important to me even though the rest of the party stance was opposite. This year I went with my conscience. It's nice when you can do so.
I thought that Romney's concession speech was short, sweet and gracious. I thought that Obama's speech was...weird. SB was disappointed and wished for better manners from the supporters of both parties while I thought everything went as expected. Mitt's supporters were unhappy and can be forgiven for not clapping for the winning team considering that they had pulled in marathon hours to have their hopes shattered. Not the best of manners, but not unexpected. Barack's supporters were euphoric and celebrating their victory so they can also be forgiven for not giving appropriate applause to the beginning of Obama's speech that said nice things about reaching across the aisles. It was also the last lucid part of the speech. Caught up in the moment and possibly functioning on only adrenaline at that point of the night, Obama went on an on about hope, dreams, and happiness ever after..and possibly rainbows and unicorns.
Among other issues resolved last night: potheads can relax in Colorado and Washington but surprisingly not in Oregon. My rugby teammates can get married in Maryland. Elizabeth Warren beat Scott Brown, and not because she is an Indian.
Perusing the Facebook comments I discovered that many of us are obnoxious in victory or defeat. I give a special shout out to several of the residents of Florida. To paraphrase my friend Danielle (speaking to her Floridian relatives), losing an election is not the same thing as losing your liberty. Your racist comments are still protected under the first amendment, though your threats are not. And you are free to move out of the country as you keep threatening, and I wish you would. Just don't move to Hong Kong.
In case you were wondering, I voted for a third party candidate. As a Texas voter I can afford to do so. And no, it wasn't the Objectivist party. I remember thinking that The Fountainhead was the bees knees when I was fifteen but then I reread it in college and discovered that the hero was a rapist, the plot was dazzlingly single minded and the author was a narcissistic hypocrite. So I went with the party that was closest to representing what I believe in. It's good to know that my vote may not have been the most relevant, but it was guided entirely by my principles. In previous years I joined the circus of two party hype to protect the one or two principles that were most important to me even though the rest of the party stance was opposite. This year I went with my conscience. It's nice when you can do so.
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