I'll leave the analysis of last night's election to the professionals. Merely by way of observation I'd describe the mood here as "subdued." The office is quiet, the outside is quiet, and one could hear a pin drop in the chow hall today. This, of course, is not terribly surprising as I could probably pick out about two of three people in total over here that voted for Obama.
The election experience, however, reinforced some of the less than happy things about living in Iraq - namely loneliness. Had I been in DC I would most likely have been out at a bar with a bunch of people, watching the returns, and drinking far too much beer for a Tuesday night. At the very least I would have sat around with my dog and watched the television.
By way of contrast (and reality) I was on my bed in my hooch, with the lights out, and headphones attached to the TV via a long cord - as to not to wake the (disliked) roommate. I finally went to sleep after 0530 after Ohio was called for Obama. All in all it was rather depressing. Speaking with a colleague this morning (also from the DC area) he shared many of the same sentiments - probably a bit moreso as his dude won.
Update: though I will say that unlike 2000 and 2004 when the though of either Gore or Kerry was enough to keep me awake at night I don't feel the angst (or disgust) about Obama. He wasn't my choice but I'm sure that he'll be marginally effective so long as he doesn't 1) embrace the kooky far-left or 2) immediately demonstrate anti-business and anti-competitive tendencies. Besides, the Republicans are going to be doing the whole circular firing squad bit for the foreseeable future and will, hence, likely be pretty useless.
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2 comments:
Don't worry, I sat around with your dog and watched the returns! :)
Agree to your third paragraph.
Yes, i'm sure you would have drank like a fish had you been here.
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