In Search of...the morning after

It's the morning after...Dancing with the Stars, and Bristol Palin is still somehow miraculously in the competition. She can't believe it. Her partner can't believe it. I can't believe it, and I'm sure you can't believe it. I find it far more shocking than the Republicans taking over the House, which came as no particular surprise to anyone.

This bring me to...the Republicans taking over the House. The spin on this is making me crazier than the pre-election campaign ads, and those made me pretty crazy. Republicans didn't win the Senate, and the last time I checked Obama was still in the White House, so knock it off the whole change sweeping the nation thing. The only thing sweeping the nation is discontent, and that, my friends, is not just reserved for Democrats. I only heard a snippet of the President's address today, and he's still talking about civility and working together with Republicans. Has he learned nothing in his two years in office?

Believe me, I am all for civility, compromise, courtesy, statesmanship, camaraderie, peace, love, and understanding. However (long pause and sigh), in the grander scheme of things, it seems to me the magnitude of the problems we are facing today warrants solutions that do not require that we take the high road to an unachievable destination for the sake of taking the high road. Simply put - the end justifies the means. Just get the job done. None of us care how pretty it looks, or if two sides can sit nicely in a room and have tea and cookies. And if this election taught anyone anything, it should be that we don't care who gets reelected or not. If you've gotten elected to Congress these days, you've got money. We are not going to cry if you need to return to the private sector and begin writing your memoir now. You've got healthcare for life, so what do you care? I don't have healthcare for life.

In the past, I have not been prone to this kind of selfish thinking. In fact, just the opposite. But these are unprecedented times we're living in, and I think we can all safely say that when we have jobs, healthcare, a roof over our heads, and nothing blowing up in the sky, we will all feel more generous. But until then, 2010 winners, whoever you are, whether you just got elected last night or have been in politics forever, I suggest you go to Washington ready to create jobs and bolster the economy. I suggest everyone in Washington stop worrying about which position they're playing on the football field known as the United States Congress. It's time to bring the A game. You are the teams we chose, for better or worse. Leave the field bloody and soiled and fully spent when you do, knowing that you are not embroiled in mere sport, but in the life or death of a nation. Shake hands when you depart, and for the sake of us all, leave something better when you go than it was when you arrived.

Thanks for stopping by. Here's to a new day.