39 hours more

in 39 hours or so from the writing of this we will have a new president of the United States of America. I wish that we could be rid of the mess that George W Bush and his friends have left in as much time. This is not possible though. We can't close Gitmo in a heartbeat. (Where are all the non-US citizens whose countries won't take them back to go?) We can't leave Iraq tomorrow (we aught to make some honest effort to help rebuild the country we've ruined). And our president to be actually voted for the latest FISA bill on telecom immunity.

I haven't, since about 2004, believed that Barack Obama was an actual liberal. I think the reason he got to be the democratic candidate was because he hadn't been around as long as Hillary Clinton and as such, had less mud stuck to him. When Primary Day came to Massachusetts, and for the first time ever, there was enough of a contest to make it worth voting I had to think long and hard about whether to vote for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. It wasn't because I particularly liked either of them (John Edwards was my man) but Mrs. Clinton's platform was to the left of Mr. Obama's. On the other hand, she'd actually voted for the war. (For the record, I think the fact that Barack Obama didn't vote for the war is partly his luck in being elected to the senate after the fact.) And so I voted for Obama. And I've enjoyed watching people get enthusiastic about him and Change.

So although I try to hold my breath, I still hope for good things. After all, Bill Clinton wasn't the liberal that we'd all hoped he'd be but he was still a marked improvement. Admittedly, even 12 years of Reagan and Bush hadn't left the country in so messy a state as 8 years of Bush and Cheney.

But we watch and wait and hope for the rose that blooms in the middle of winter..