Thursday, November 6, 2008

Post-election thoughts from Canada and the US Part 2

[See 'Post-election thoughts' below for context]

Hi Mutt,

I didn't hear any partying in my little corner of the world, but I don't suppose that means it wasn't happening.  For my part, I celebrated rather quietly.  My state still wasn't decided until after 1:00 AM and even though we turned out to be a non-issue, I was truly hoping we'd vote blue just for my personal satisfaction. 

Based on the last numbers I saw (which were purportedly returned with 100% of precincts reporting) we did, in fact, vote for Obama but he won by fewer than 20,000 votes.  Meaning if the election had been close, NC could have been the new Florida. 

That's a little disturbing, but I hope it's a reversal of the trend that has continued since the Nixon Administration.  The only Democrat to carry NC since LBJ was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

I too was struck by McCain's concession speech.  As nasty as this campaign has been, I thought his address was gracious and classy.  And I'd like to hope that he can actually come together with the new President and work across party lines the way he suggested.


In sum, yesterday was a good day indeed.  Obama wins a convincing victory with the largest voter turnout in recent history (possibly the largest ever according to some sources), Liz Dole was trounced in her bid to defend her Senate seat, North Carolina has its first female Governor ever and my Hurricanes took two points out of T.O. in overtime.  It was a very good day indeed!

When I walked out this morning I noticed that even the trees had suddenly shifted gears.  We've still been seeing mainly green around here despite the lateness of the year.  But this morning it seemed like overnight the trees had turned red and gold.  I know that's probably just my imagination but it's a nice illusion.

So... the election is over, but the race is just starting.  There's a helluva mess to clean up and it's gonna be a tough job.  But I really believe we picked the right guy to do it.

I have a really good feeling about this.

Jeff

***

I appreciated all of Jeff’s comments except that dig at my Leafs.

Your thought about the election would be appreciated too. Good feelings?

[But stay away from the Leafs eh! It’s early days.]

.

4 comments:

bobbie said...

The BEST feelings! Everywhere I go now, everyone seems to want to share their good feelings with everyone else. My CA daughter is always bummed out because their state gets its votes counted last, and by that time, don't even matter. But this time around, theirs were the ones that put him over the top at 11:pm, and she and the rest of the crowd were cheering loud and long.

Too bad CA didn't follow through the next day on Prop 8.

Anonymous said...

Although we didn't get our casino in Ohio (again!) I was very happy that Ohio didn't look like the bumbling morons like we have in the past with voting. (wheewww!)

I'm elated that Barack won. I wondered outloud to my daughter, "how long do I leave our Obama sign in the yard without looking like I'm gloating?"

she says, "uh, two days?"

I said, "Okay! Two WEEKS it is!"

It's been a long hard 8 years. My small business has seen an incredible downturn in the last 2 and this economy sucks royally. I'm ready for change. A fresh face and someone to help restore the world's faith in us since Bush destroyed all that.

I love your blog.

G. Harrison said...

thanks for your comment, bobbie.

i think news about the proposition just hit our papers today; i haven't looked yet at the results or analysis. will do after i cook supper (my turn).

cheers,

gord h.

G. Harrison said...

hi sheila, thanks for visiting It Strikes.

Two weeks is perfect for the lawn sign!

i think people's confidence will grow inside and outside the US but i'm not sure how the growth will affect the economy.

the move toward less debt and a sustainable economy will be a long tough march but more people are motivated to do the work.

good sign, as far as i'm concerned.

gah