Thoughts on the Election

Even here, in the Swedish equivalent of hillbilly hell, we couldn't escape news of the election. I lay low as far as my American citizenship is concerned, so there was no flag waving, celebrating, or pre-election preaching on my part. But now that it's finally over, several of my friends have asked me what I think.

I am somewhat relieved that Obama won, though not nearly as relieved as when McCain locked the Republican nomination. That was the high point for me, since I considered McCain to be the least scary of the Republicans. That meant that either way, things were destined for a significant improvement. I feel that McCain shot himself in the foot with his choice of vice-presidential candidate because that woman is really scary! I understand that it was necessary for a token female to balance the ticket, but honestly, was she really the best he could find? It was such a flashback to Arnold Vinick being driven to the right as a last ditch attempt to secure the Republican vote after a crisis shook the country.

While I'm on the subject of the West Wing, why is it that Hollywood screenwriters can create more likable politicians, with better messages and better speeches, than real life political operatives and writers? Sometimes reality sucks.

Now what really gets to me about the election was that Californians could vote to ban gay marriage. I like to think of my fellow Californians as open-minded people, but apparently there are plenty who are not. What a shame.

P.S. A friend of mine drew this, and I thought it was just too cute not to share.