Election Hangover (not just from alcohol)

See this article on the Slate:
Election Hangover (not just from alcohol)
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/11/election_hangover_the_pain_and_the_glory_of_the_day_after.html


I really couldn't have said it better myself.  After two years, so much debate, so much arguing, so many candidates, so many jokes, worries, predictions, and wishes, I'm having a little trouble knowing what to do with myself today. 

There was one thing that I hoped both candidates would have said in their speeches last night but didn't (or didn't really).  So I'll say it here.....

Take all this energy, all this passion, all these ideas, and all your vision, and keep using it!  Keep thinking and talking about the kind of country and society you want to live in.  Be active in your community and call/write/e-mail your Senators and Congresspeople.  Vote with your dollars and your time in every decision you make.  Shape the world you live in.  Don't wait until 2015 to get all worked up again....

Who is it going to be? And how close?

I find the last few days before elections to be nerve-wracking.  There is so much information and so many polls released and the candidates all seem so desperate.  I'm always filled with this sense that it doesn't matter anymore, that people have made up their minds and I just have to WAIT. Ugh. 

Also, nobody, and I mean nobody, has any incentive to make you feel otherwise. The candidates, the press, the polling organizations, and even bars...everyone benefits from Americans thinking the election will be nail biting close.  Otherwise we wouldn't all vote tomorrow, we wouldn't be online all day looking for early returns, we wouldn't be glued to our TVs or crowding into bars and restaurants tomorrow night to watch the returns....watching the Internet or TV and subjecting ourselves to dozens and dozens of ads.

So I wonder...is this election really going to be as close as everyone is saying?  Or is this just the last stage of election season public manipulation?

Survey of News Headlines

Following Tuesday night's debate, I did a quick and completely unscientific survey of major news headlines.  Curious to see if there was concensus on the outcome of the debate and also to get a general feel for how emotionally charged the headlines would be, given that the debate certainly was.  I was actually pretty surprised with what I found.

Here are the major headlines from 8 major news organizations (CNN, NBC News, ABC News, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Christian Science Monitor and New York Times) and, for entertainment, I included The Onion as well.  These weren't editorial headlines, these were news headlines from the front page.

Facts and Friction:  What we learned 

Sorry Mr. President, Candy Admits that ROMNEY WAS RIGHT
Debate Again Changes Campaign's Arc 
Has debate re-energized Democrats? 
Along with Sparks Errors Fly in Debate
Intense Obama Reignites Democrats After Bruising Debate
As Romney Stumbles, Obama Rumbles 
Romney To Town Hall Audience: 'I Own Horses And Care For Them, And You Are All Like Horses'
Debate Moves Women to Fore in Race for the White House

I was actually glad to see that in most cases the headlines seemed to have an even tone, focus on facts related to the debate, and the effect it had on the campaigns.  However this wasn't true in all cases.  Can you guess which headline is from which organization?

Gas Prices

I think the whole issue of gas prices is actually fascinating.  What price per gallon do you actually think is reasonable?  Reasonable for from perspective of what you can afford in your personal budget or reasonable from the perspective of the value of the good/service being provided?  I'm really curious to hear what people have to say about this.  Is $4.00/gallon too much?  If so, why? And vice versa, is $4.00/gallon too little to pay?

First Debate

Right now it is a few hours before the first debate.  I'm sort of mixed with excitement and dread.  How much do these debates really matter?  Do these debates really change voter's minds?  Are they just fodder for sound bites? 

I just hope it is positive and not an eye-rolling, loud sighing, mud-slinging affair.  There are other TV shows if you want to want people fight.  This is supposed be a debate.  A thoughtful exchange of opposing ideas and positions.

If you watched the debate, what were your thoughts?  Was there actually a winner or just someone who did less bad?  Favorite quotes?  Shining moments?  Did you actually participate in the "middle class" drinking game [take a drink every time either candidate says "middle class"]?

What is the role of the President?

One of the barriers to meaningful discussion during the Presidential election is that everyone has different ideas of what the President should be.  Should he be a military commander, moral example, skilled economist, expert negotiator, coalition builder, good father, good husband, good musician? 

Which skills and traits are really necessary for this job? 

Do you value things like personality, trustworthiness, stance on social/personal issues?  Are these things more or less important than knowledge of technical issues such as military strategy, economics, or world political history?  Why?

What kind of influence does the President really have on the economy?

The economy has been the major issue discussed in this election season.  I don't think there is a single person who doesn't think that our economy needs some improvement.  However, the public discussions so far seem to have focused on two things (1) who is to blame for where are now and (2) why the other candidate will result in a wholesale collapse of life as we know it.  This is not hyperbole.  Read the news, on both sides.

But what influence does the President really have on the economy?  Not just in what ways but exactly how much influence?  Throughout history the stance by both parties has been:

• if the economy is bad, it's due to issues beyond the control of the President or government 
• if the economy is good, it's because of their programs and policies which have had sweeping influence

Our critique of the candidate views on the economy should acknowledge what is actually within their power to change.  It just doesn't make sense to congratulate either party for saying that they will do things that legally they just can't and it also just doesn't make sense to hold a person or a party accountable for problems that they don't have the power to fix directly.