Tag: Hillary Clinton

Election Day: 7:27pm

Ohio and North Carolina are about to close. In my picks column, I wrote that Ohio is probably out of reach for Clinton. It’s so disappointing to me, personally. I haven’t lived in Ohio since 1999, but I still have strong social and familial connections to the state.

North Carolina going Trump would be a fairly significant blow to Clinton’s night. It, and New Hampshire, going for Trump would basically require a Clinton win in Florida to stop Trump from winning. That’s why NBC’s reporting on Hispanic turnout in Florida is significant. An extra 4 million Hispanic voters could represent a net gain of 2.5 to 3 million voted for Clinton. Fingers crossed.

Election Day: 6:58pm

What a shitshow. The stakes in elections this century always seem to be high. The 2004 election, as a friend reminded me this afternoon, really did a number on me. I couldn’t fathom how so many people could take an honest look at the performance of George W. Bush as president and decide he had earned another term. The man was incompetent, and some of his people were war criminals.

Now here we are in 2016 and the most unqualified major party candidate in American history will probably find 60 million Americans voting for him. Incredible. That’s 60 million of our fellow citizens who are incapable of recognizing the danger Donald Trump represents to the United States and the world.

Only a couple of minutes before some real returns start coming in. New Hampshire is making me nervous, but NBC just reported Hispanic turnout is up by 4 million in Florida. If that is accurate, this night is probably already over.

Election Day: 6:00pm

And they’re off! Polls have now closed in eastern Kentucky and in most of Indiana. Those two states are solidly in the red, but Democrat Evan Bayh’s race to get back into the Senate is very important for control of the upper house. Hopefully there will be reporting shortly after the remaining polling sites in Indiana close at 7.

Election Day: 12:11pm

I just returned from voting. My district in NYC has been good to me since I moved to this neighborhood. There has never been a line. In contrast, a buddy in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (elevation 16 feet above sea level and flat as a pancake), had to wait 90 minutes to vote. Out in San Francisco, another friend waited 5 minutes. This is only the most important day in our country, and it comes around every 4 years. No need to get it right.

Missile Test Predicts! 2016 Degenerate Gambler Edition

The Oval Office Thunderdome desk hasn’t been all that busy this election cycle, but that certainly isn’t because of a lack of subject matter. This election has been among the most anguished in all of American history. Much of the electorate is in disbelief that someone with as many disqualifications for public office still has a shot at winning the Oval Office. Continue reading “Missile Test Predicts! 2016 Degenerate Gambler Edition”

Oval Office Thunderdome: SOOOOPAAAHHHHHHH TOOOOOSSSDAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

It’s here! The biggest day of the primary season (only to be superseded, possibly, by a chaotic GOP convention in July — I may have to visit the old family in Ohio for that one).

Each party has 11 states up for grabs tonight, with a big chunk of delegates to boot. There won’t be much in the way of surprises tonight, but I’m going to live blog it anyway, because it gives me an excuse to watch Republican pundits go through the five stages of grief on live television. Continue reading “Oval Office Thunderdome: SOOOOPAAAHHHHHHH TOOOOOSSSDAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!”

The Iraq War

Ten years ago today the American military began its invasion of Iraq. Ten years on the war still incenses. Politics today is in the grip of hyper-partisanship. The GOP is blatantly obstructionist, the Democrats flailing as they try to play small ball with legislation and the economy. The rancor in Washington and in the media is poisonous. Our leaders are growing increasingly cloistered in that world of theirs, and seem either blissfully unaware of the damage they’re doing to the country, or, worse, unconcerned. It’s a disheartening time. But, I would rather see a broken government than the one that so efficiently led us into war in Iraq. Continue reading “The Iraq War”