ELECTION POST PARTUM

They are over, finally, though at some points I thought the elections would go on forever. This year more than some of the races were hotly contested on many levels, locally and nationally.

Watching the results last night, I found myself on pins and needles, particularly in my home state of Rhode Island. I would walk to the kitchen for a glass of water and the results would have changed -- with candidates flip flopping in status as the votes were counted. 


I noted curiously how much that flip flopping on the TV screen resembled some of the campaigns -- statements made, statements reworked, statements sometimes retracted. It was like watching a ping pong match -- a small little ball zooming by so fast that it was a blur some of the time.


I've covered such things in the past, though this time I was at home, watching the goings on in the background as the various talking heads spewed this and that, killing time waiting for the candidate to arrive. I saw a boatload of people I know, some notorious for showing up at these things year after year, backing their candidate du jour, a handful of them hoping for a handout.


Some things never change.


That said, I do hope for one change this time around -- that those same party goers who were dancing around and yelling the name of their candidate with arms upraised will take it one step further and continue their involvement. 


NOW is the time to give the candidate/winner your full support -- when the job actually begins. This is the tough part, in which the rush of a campaign is gone in the day to day drudge of getting the work done. It is not glamorous, it is not sexy, and it IS backbreaking most of the time.


But it needs to happen. As Captain Picard always told his Star Trek crew, "Make it so."

Amen, and pass the mustard.