Wednesday, November 5, 2008

The unbearable lightness of winning

This is going to come as a shock to you all, but I voted for Barack Obama yesterday. And I was really psyched when he won last night, not only because I like a lot of his ideas, but also because I was previously 0 for 2 in presidential voting. I’d never seen “my guy” win before.

But around the time the TV called Ohio, making it pretty clear that Obama would win, I felt a sudden weight on my shoulders. And it dawned on me: I’d lost the excuse I’d been using for the past eight years. From now on, when the President does something stupid, I can't say, “Hey, I didn’t vote for him.

And that’s a little scary. I’ve grown accustomed to being a malcontent who grouses about the government guilt free because I always vote for losers. Now I’m a winner and I’m not sure how to wear it. Maybe some of our Republican readers can give me pointers. Wait, do we have any Republican readers? If nothing else, I guess I can fall back on the fact that I voted for Hilary Clinton in the primaries.


So congratulations President-elect Obama! Please don’t make any major mistakes that make me look stupid. (…or that, you know, ruin the country or something. Of course).

6 comments:

Red said...

Obama is gonna be so awesome, we'll never need the "Don't blame me. I voted for the other guy" excuse.

Anonymous said...

I have this feeling you won't be needing to make any excuses either, Liz.

But just in case, tell everyone you were a bit drunk when you voted yesterday, then if it comes to it you can remind them of that fateful day when you had some champagne and voted for the upstart.

Red said...

Nothing can kill my buzz. I kicked off yesterday listening to "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" on my iPod and it's been repeating in my head interspersed with prayers of gratitude today.

Yes, we did!

Anonymous said...

I voted for the other guy, but not because I dislike Obama. He was the better candidate, I just didn't agree on some of his views.

But I hope he can make the change that he has been preaching.

MJenks said...

You could be like me and slap the "don't blame me, I voted for Kodos" sticker up on your blog.

And, yes, Obama will do stupid shit. McCain would have done stupid shit. Biden will do stupid shit. I don't think I need to imagine Palin, right?

You just shake your head and move on. That's all. And when people say "You put him in office", you can say (in your case), "Yeah, me and 59 million other people."

Falwless said...

Nice Kundera reference in the title, Liz! I still remember reading that book years and years and years ago...

I, too, have a feeling we won't ever need the "don't blame me" excuse.

Please don't make me wrong, 'Bama!