bedtime thoughts

Before I head off to bed, I just wanted to make these few comments:

-Our house has been amused by CNN's overly cautious projections for the presidential race, not wanting to make the same mistakes as 2000. Wolf Blitzer consistently reminded their analysts that "the race isn't over"...even though it looks like Bush is going to take Ohio and thereby the electoral college.

-CNN analysts also stated that the Republicans will retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. That means they hold the legislative and barring some twist in events over the night, the executive branch. They will also have the opportunity to appoint several more conservative judges onto the Supreme Court. That means the Republicans have a good hold on all three arms of the US government and will have an easier time pushing through their agenda, i.e. abortion, stem-cell research, tax-cuts, ANWR and their energy bill, etc. As someone who follows social and environmental issues, the thought of this next Republican government makes me cringe.

-Voting increased significantly this election. What'll be disappointing to Democrats and any left-leaning person anywhere in the world is that not only did the Democrats lose the lead they had in popular vote, Bush is winning by more than 3 million votes. No ambiguity there.

-Daimler Chrysler are now calling their SUVs "Safety Utility Vehicles." That's right, they're no longer for sport, but for safety...looks like someone's learning how to spin like the Bush administration.

-I'm not sure whether I should be depressed or ambivalent by these results. I have no idea how the next four years will turn out. I've been disappointed with the whole damn human race lately so maybe it's just that. I'll have to mull over what this represents for the near future (because my policy analysis skills are just so in demand)...

-I've decided that Wolf Blitzer and the rest of the CNN team will not be sleeping tonight, as Ohio is "too close to call" and they will be following it all the way through to the end of the provisional and military vote counts until they're so sleep deprived that caution be damned, they call it for somebody before they pass out on masse.