Midterms

I was up last night talking to a cousin out in Kansas. I've been learning some rather eye-opening accounts of my mother's side of the family lately, and wanted to check them out. Stuff going back years. (Pat, if you're reading this, have I got a whopper for you!)

Other than that, the big story here is the midterms.

No, not my midterm grade at the Art Institute. Not that getting an "A" is so bad. It's what I usually get. Deo gratias.

The midterm elections are over, and it appears the Dems are taking over the hill. Even the Senate. That's only because they appear to have the lock on Virginia, where George Allen managed to shoot his mouth off one too many times, making Jim Webb look better. Webb ran an ad featuring the voice of President Reagan, over the objections of Reagan's widow, Nancy. He not only kept running it, but refused to apologize. What a cad! As for Allen, I personally never got the whole "macaca" thing. There was more reporting on the backlash than on what was actually said. I'm not even sure he knew what it meant. Maybe he thought it was a type of burrito. (At least that was my first guess.)

Meanwhile, in the Nation's capital, there is little shock over the thought of a black Democrat becoming the mayor. (yawn!). Adrian Fenty was already being touted in the local press as "the presumed mayor" or even "mayor-elect" (Washingtonian magazine, November issue, I'm not kidding!) weeks before the vote was cast. No wonder his Republican opponent got only five percent. No wonder I can't even remember the poor loser's name.

But I'll bet he was a good loser. Most of the Republicans who lost are not contesting the elections. Even the close ones. It's a refreshing change from the crybaby Democrats, who managed to get a soundbite with every wimper in the last two Presidential elections.

On the bright side, initiatives to enshrine same-sex marriage were defeated in six states, including Virginia, where the local ABC affiliate insisted on referring to it as "the gay marriage amendment," when in fact it wasn't. (I should have gone into that line of work. Sure doesn't take much smarts. Just read what's in front of you and have an expression going from half-smiling to half-serious.) What's more, the press makes it sound like there's going to be a lot of shuffling back and forth, with people moving out and moving in all over town. For a mid-term election, that only happens around Capitol Hill in the office buildings. The housing market has two more years before some serious turnover.

Maybe Donald Rumsfield can get a job with some consulting firm on K Street. Or out with the "Beltway bandits." Wonder who would consult him.

We'll provide updates on unique post-election insights from throughout the Catholic blogosphere later in the day. Stay tuned...