All Will Be Well

It’s late, I should go to bed, but I’ve been thinking how very worried Republican (and right-leaning Independent) voters are about this election. In the line at the County Building for early voting, I noticed a palpable undercurrent of grim anxiety. They’re disillusioned with Bush, they’re unenthusiastic about McCain, they don’t trust Obama—they’re distraught and afraid, and their leaders’ campaigns encourage their fears.

I realize that I am not a trustworthy source for this group, being a Democrat by apparently innate temperament, rooting for the left since Nixon/McGovern in 1972 (age 14) and in every election since. But there is really not that much to be afraid of. I can tell you my fear—it’s that Obama will be too much of a centrist and conciliator, that he won’t fight hard enough for the issues that matter to me, like pushing universal health care, renouncing torture, rolling back the threats to civil liberties from the “War on Terror,” getting our soldiers out of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (etc., etc.).

Obama is a centrist Democrat. He is middle of the road. His views, likely policies, and natural inclinations are much more mainstream America than those of the Bush administration. Think FDR, think LBJ (before the McNamara escalation in Vietnam), think William Jefferson Clinton. I realize that these guys are demonized by the wingnut fringe, but really, how scary and un-American were they? How awful was life during their tenures as president? Obama is black, and he has an unusual name, but those things are not signifiers of sinister mystery. He’s a smart kid who grew up with advantages and disadvantages, who missed his father and was loved by his grandparents, who made it into the best schools, who is idealistic and ambitious, who is a canny politician, who has an optimistic and imperturbable disposition, who is organized, who married well to a smart woman, who has cute kids, who is a gifted orator, whose character is a mix of strengths and weaknesses as is anyone’s.

He’s not a monster, he’s not a Manchurian candidate, he’s not got a hidden agenda. He’s going to win on Tuesday. And everything will be OK. Believe me. It’s gonna be all right.

2:1

Oh my gosh, how could I forget (I'm waiting for the video of Rob's TV appearance to upload to a previous post, which isn't going to happen because it's way too long, but I can't give up on it because it really is a cool video)--B&B discovered this week via ultrasound that "E" the fetus is actually Ethan Charles Kocherhans, due March 29, 2009, photos here.

Must... resist... impulse to covet progeny, to value them in terms of numbers, to count them up before and after they are hatched. Must... resist... urge to morph into Crazy Grandma Karla... Too late!

Two boys and a girl. Mwah-ha-ha! Two boys and a girl, the cutest, smartest, sweetest, most willful, most challenging, incredible, indescribable grandkids on the earth today. With not a little of this* in the mix, and I say again-- Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I've earned my grandmotherly triumph!

*grandchildren are the best revenge

Fire on the Mountain

We were late tonight to a bluegrass concert at the Tahitian Noni theater just down the hill, but we did get to see their headliner--the band Fire on the Mountain. I know these homemade videos of musical performances don't come through too well, but it was fun. We went with our friends the Burtons and the Jacobsens--who we'll be seeing again Tuesday for the victory party.

Halloween

I didn't get to Rob and Nicolle's last night until the costumes were off and the party was over, so I stole a couple of photos from their blog. Colette was Rainbow Brite, Rob her horse Starlite (with his own homemade paper-mache horse head), Nicolle was Moonglo, and Johnathan Twink. I don't know about the rest of them, but Colette nailed it!

Grand Nephew Elias

Here are Damien and Kelli and Elias, who stopped by for a visit tonight.

Election Shenanigans

We came home tonight and somebody had stolen all our campaign yard signs. We haven't checked up and down the street to see if the other Obama/ Spencer/ Hatfield/ Hill signs are gone, but they probably are. Can't wait 'til Tuesday--I'm gonna do an endzone victory dance like there's no tomorrow (in private of course--or only with other progressive friends at our election party that night). And then I'll start complaining about the Obama administration. But for one night I'm gonna enjoy being on the winning team. I've been happy for a week just thinking about it.

Rob's Band on TV II

Hey, so we just watched Rob on the KJZZ cooking show Cooking Delight with Jennifer Burns (formerly channel 14, now channel 65 at our house). John and Sergene were in the audience.Nicolle and I were too, but I only got half-second glimpses of us. The show will be repeated Sunday at 2pm, if anybody wants to watch it, and you can probably see it on the KJZZ website. It was a lot of fun, and that salad really was great!