I took yesterday off to run errands, vote, and relax. One day away, and my inbox went from empty to full. Not as daunting as the day I returned from a week long vacation, but still…full. Maybe that’s why I hardly take my PTO (personal time off) days. The dread of facing my inbox. 🙂
I made good on my commitment. Donuts for the office and warehouse, just like four years ago, to celebrate Obama’s victory. The new director said, “Obama donuts? I’ll pass.” Then, I heard he had one later. Mmm hmm. The CFO, who was there when he said that, interjected, “Who cares? It’s donuts!!” Ahahaha. Non partisan! Anyway, it was a nice treat for everyone…especially the guys and gals back there who don’t make that much more than minimum wage. Plus, I bought the donuts from a small business owned by Cambodian immigrants. For some reason, Cambodians own a lot of the donut shops in the Bay Area. Money well spent. I made people happy, supported a small business, and stimulated the economy!
It took a while for everything to sink in. I was on Cloud 9 last night…after being on pins and needles for the last month or so. When Ohio was still “too close to call” I was on edge. And the Blue Moon beer I was drinking wasn’t taking that edge off. Then, I heard it. He won Ohio, and the networks called it. Obama was reelected and is the 44th President of the United States. Big sigh of relief…until Romney wasn’t prepared to concede because Ohio was too close.
Karl Rove was writing like a mad man on FOX and asking the network to rescind the call. One of the anchor ladies went back to the numbers guys who stood by their call. Wow, that was awkward.
It was about an hour and a half before Romney conceded. The reporter at the Romney campaign said he only had an acceptance speech written. Man, that guy has some balls. I guess he took that 90 minutes to write his concession.
I am absolutely and positively relieved. The American people saw through this liar. One of my favorite Conservative blog friends Terrance at Tocqueville’s Muse said this about Romney:
“Mitt Romney is a solid businessman, a good person, and a real leader. But liberals managed to paint him as the quintessential evil capitalist.”
I respectfully disagree. Mitt Romney is not a good person. He is a bad person, and I saw right through him from the beginning.
- A good person does not physically bully a classmate by pinning him down and cutting his hair just because he’s different (gay).
- A good person doesn’t mess with his staff’s heads by giving them different bonuses just to keep them on edge.
- A good person doesn’t coldly walk away from a dying person who asks him about medical marijuana.
He’s not a good person, and no one can convince me otherwise. Maybe people have him confused with his father, George Romney, who was a great person. I guess, in this case, “Compassionate Conservatism” skips a generation.
Now that America has chosen Obama to finish the job he started four years ago, the real work begins. The fiscal cliff is fast approaching. Gitmo is still open. Soldiers and innocent civilians are still dying in Iraq and Afghanistan. Liberals like myself are going to keep pushing him on these issues.
A lot of the issues, especially the looming fiscal cliff, will need to be dealt with in a bipartisan manner. John Boehner said that he was willing to work with Obama. I’m skeptical given their history of obstructionist actions. However, if he is sincere, then I hope they do work together. There is going to have to be some give and take.
One of the places where they can start is taking a good hard look at the bipartisan Simpson Bowles Plan. At least look at it with an open mind. See it as a starting point, which is good because they don’t have to start from scratch. Both sides need to do something to avert another recession.
As they talk about working together, I’m going to take this opportunity to rest up a bit from the hell that was the 2012 election season. I’m happy we were able to stop the train wreck that was Mitt Romney. I liked that despite all of that Super PAC money, the Koch Brothers and the like could not buy the election. It reminded me of 2010 when Meg Whitman spent $150M of her own money and lost.
The fact that billions were spent on this campaign is disgusting. That money could have helped real people. I listened to Karel Saturday night before the election as I waited in the drive through line for my cheeseburger and fries. I liked what he said – keep campaigning to one month before the election. Other countries do this. I’m sure everyone in all the swing states will be on board with this one. I think there should be a spending cap too.
Anyway, the election is over, and I’m happy. Even though I’m a political junkie, I’m spent. This election made my head almost spin off completely. Time to relax and celebrate because sooner rather than later, I know I’ll be putting on the boots to wade through the crap that is US Politics.
Spinny Liberal 
November 7th, 2012 at 7:41 PM
“Even though I’m a political junkie, I’m spent.”
You and me too sister.
There does seem to be a connection between donut outlets and Southeast Asians. I have seen more than a few here in the D-FW area. Whatever that connection is it seems to be a good one. They make great cinnamon rolls and fritters.
November 8th, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Seriously. I am excited to get some rest from all this crap.
Right? I love their twisty donuts. 🙂
November 8th, 2012 at 9:34 AM
I’m starting to feel as old as you, Spinster. LOL.
Normally I’d argue over whether Romney is a good person or not, but I’m too damn tired. I campaigned relentlessly for Romney and some local candidate. I did phones, doors, meetings, interviews, phones, doors, phones, doors, phones, doors, and blogging. Ugh. I’ve been going nonstop since the primary. I’m too phucking tired to argue. Give me a week to reboot.
And I wished you both congratulations. I wasn’t going to be petty.
(I do think that’s nuts though that Romney didn’t have a concession speech written. Somewhat arrogant.)
November 8th, 2012 at 12:37 PM
Then that’s pretty damn old because I’m feeling about 25,890 years old. 😛
Me too. Wow, that’s awesome you did all that. In 2008, I participated in “Postcards for Obama.” I didn’t do it this year. I couldn’t find the ones who did it four years ago, and there wasn’t enough time to organize an effort myself. So, I just threw my pennies at the campaign.
And the blogging. Man. “Romney quotes” and “Romney FEMA” were among the top search engine terms. I had to keep it going, man. I needed to expose this guy as much as possible. There was a big uptick in visits because of those terms.
So the blogging on top of my full time job and dealing with one of my investments? Physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. I am going to be writing fluff for a while. Haha
I thought it was very classy of you to offer your congratulations. 🙂
November 8th, 2012 at 2:56 PM
Well, you know me, Spin. Class is my middle-name….
:-)))
November 8th, 2012 at 3:45 PM
😆
November 8th, 2012 at 10:46 PM
Hi. Setting you up on a blog play date. Just read this and thought you might like it: http://booksnobbery.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/hey-america-can-we-chat-for-a-minute/
November 9th, 2012 at 9:49 AM
This election took 2 years, cost $6 billion and got Americans throwing their dung on each other non-stop like monkeys in a zoo. And the result? Almost EXACTLY what America started with. The only things that changed were a couple states voted in gay marriage and legalized marijuana.
Other things of note:
1) Once again, None of the Above won. Most Americans refuse to vote, even for the highest office in the land. This is a fact that continues to go unmentioned by everyone inside the process. Until it’s addressed, American democracy will almost certainly remain dysfunctional.
2) Unlike what Obama said, America IS divided into Red & Blue States. The Electoral College accentuates the real numbers. (ie a 55-45 split is declared a 100% blue/red in the Electoral College) It may not be so geographically entrenched as it looks, but it’s most certainly psychologically entrenched. The Undecideds Who Will Vote are about 5% of Americans. Of those that bother to vote, nearly all hate each others guts and will not accept compromise.
3)This is not an election. It’s a demographic battle largely divorced from political campaigns. Just look at how people voted according to age, rural-urban and especially race. If the racial breakdown doesn’t convince you race is still a major issue in America, you’re already taking advantage of Colorado’s new marijuana law.
4) The fact the entire election took place in only 10 states really tells you that the Presidential results are almost entirely predetermined. Maybe that’s why so many folks stay home. The issues and opinions of the majority of states and a majority of citizens are ignored in order to obsess over a small minority.
5) Why anybody thinks anything in DC will change for the better after this election is beyond me. The lone exception; the lame-duck Congress might end the Fiscal Cliff thing. That’s not just because this will hit everyone, but because it will hit the Powers That Be. Rich folk’s will make sure their taxes won’t go up and the Military-Industrial complex isn’t about to take a hit like that. The red Powers That Be phone on every Congressman’s desk will be ringing off the hook. If that can’t make something happen in Washington, nothing will.
November 9th, 2012 at 2:28 PM
And I forgot…
6) Why the fucking fuck do so many Americans have to spend 3-6 hours in line before they can vote? This has been going on since at least 2000. Just imagine the chaos if MORE than just half the eligible voters got off their asses to go vote.