nigh-obligatory post-election post

This being the day after the election, I feel obligated to mention that it occurred.

I did not vote. This was because I was lax in registering myself, and sent my paperwork in too late. I was, however, pleased with the result. Obama was in my opinion the lesser of two evils and a symbolically important choice. Symbolic, both because of his race and because the Republicans will need time to shake off the stigma of having been the Bush administration's party. I try to be careful to say "the Bush administration" rather than "Bush," however. Because I feel a lot of the decision-making was rubber-stamped by him after it was churned out from the dim recesses of the Texas Mafia Committee To Commit Unprecedented Heists And Perpetrate Bureaucratic Evils Of The Usual Sort. The Heists subcommittee in particular is probably bathing in platinum champagne spiked with diamond dust right now, and snorting the ashes of the Shroud of Turin.

Obama does seem nicely presidential: me and Dave watched a couple hours of election coverage, right up to the President-elect's speech in front of a cheering crowd in Chicago's own Grant Park. Dave pointed out, and I agreed, that now every time we see him in public we'll be chanting in the back of our minds, "don't get shot, don't get shot, that's right, stay alive, don't get shot..." One of the downsides of living in a nation founded by crazy extremists who resorted to arms in defense of their local agendas is that, occasionally, we have homegrown crazy extremists who resort to arms to carry out their personal agendas, rather than considering the good of the nation at large. I don't deny that a vast, vast majority of Americans, whether they voted for Obama or McCain, have no inherent qualms about us having a black President. Their votes were based on policy and hype. But perhaps, perhaps there is some wackjob out there with a gun (I would wager an illegal and unregistered one, lest anyone imply I oppose the rights of honest citizens to bear arms!) who thinks a black President is the Antichrist or a harbinger of their favorite Eschaton, and thus believes it his or her sacred duty to assassinate the man. As several Presidents have been assassinated, who were doing things believed by most to be good and important.

Of course, no wackjob with a gun would be necessary if Obama's presidency were to backslide into ineffectual mediocrity. If he does that, he'll have assassinated that grand, hopeful symbolism all on his own. Which seems slightly likelier than regular-type assassination from where I sit. Oh me of little faith.


Since this is an off-topic post anyway, I'd like to mention that all I've got is acute pharyngitis, not anything scarier. Once I get ahold of my penicillin and start taking it regularly like a calm and patient patient, I'll be over this throat discomfort in no time. And taking an entire day off work yesterday to visit the county medical clinic was most instructive. It's exactly like the DMV, except with bored, harried nurses and doctors instead of the regular bored, harried clerks. And sick people instead of people who really, really want to be able to drive. I'm glad I came armed with a novel and change for the vending machines.