An End and a Beginning

Over on MSNBC, Evan Thomas of Newsweek reports that "both the Hillary Clinton campaign and the John McCain campaign were a mess" (emph. orig.), and that the Palin shopping spree was an even bigger distraction than we knew at the time. Told to buy three suits for the Republican National Convention--according to a still unattributed senior campaign staffer--the Alaska Governor instead raided high-end clothing stores across the Twin Cities with her entourage, buying up everything in sight. "It was like the Beverly Hillbillies," the campaign staffer told Mr. Thomas. Which begs the question: if any of this stuff ever goes full-on-record, will Palin try to order the Alaksa State Public Safety Commissioner to have all of these people fired from their jobs in other part of the country?

Electoral funny business in Georgia and Alaska hasn't gone unnoticed, but it remains to be seen whether the Republicans will get away with it this time. If Ted Stevens is certified as the victor in the Alaska Senate Race and then loses his appeal, he'll undoubtedly be expelled by a chastened Republican caucus, after which there would be a special election in the state, with far fewer reasons for the Republican voters in the state to turn out at the polls. Over in Georgia, meanwhile, it now appears likely (if not actually certain) that Chambliss and Martin will have a runoff.

Rahm Emmanuel has not yet accepted President-elect Obama's offer to be his Chief of Staff--which begs the question of whether the Obama transition really will be any more disciplined or polished than the Clinton transition was in 1992, since an eventual "no" from Emmanuel would expose Obama as a man unable to get what he wants. The good news is that Emmanuel won't say no, in the end, for this very reason.

Many thanks to all the readers who've made me a part of their day over the past few weeks and months--but also a pledge: If you'll keep checking-in, I'll keep providing the best commentary I can on the three topics on which this column was originally intended to speak: Politics, movies, and travel. I'll be taking the next few days to recharge my own batteries, but Monday doesn't just begin a whole new kind of work-week for Barack Obama, it also begins a whole new kind of challenge for all of us--writing, agitating, pulling our own weight to fulfill the visions of this man who may, just may, go on to be one of the greatest Presidents we've ever had.

See you all Monday?

Dave O'Gorman
("The Key Grip")
Gainesville, Florida