A "Bittersweet" Victory

Today’s post begins with a fractal called Latte Swirl. I picked it because “Latte” is a bittersweet beverage that somehow mirrors my feelings on the election. That being said--on with today’s rant.
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So Barack Obama is now our President-elect--and I’m a happy boy. As a left-leaning independent I just didn’t feel that John McCain was in touch with the pulse of the American people. Obama had a decisive victory in the Electoral College and won the popular vote by a reasonable margin. (Unlike “Dubya’s” “Mandate from the American people”--a 51 to 49% vote--this was a clear and complete victory.) I am glad to see that America has finally gotten past the issue of color and made a choice on ability rather than race.
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Still, Obama’s victory has me a bit worried: McCain lost because he was too-closely tied to President Bush and most people believe “Dubya” has made a royal hash out of things. People are looking for a change--any change--but I worry that they will fall quickly away when they realize that Obama isn’t going to be able to simply wave a magic wand and “fix” everything. It took a long time to get into this mess--and it’s going to take a lot of time, effort and sacrifice to get us out. I just hope the American people give him time to make a difference.
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It turned out that Sarah Palin wasn’t nearly as beneficial as McCain hoped she would have been: yes, she emerged the conservative base of the Republican Party--but she turned off an equal number of independents by her reactionary views. Yay America! You got that one right. If this election taught the Republicans anything it is that they are going to have to make a stronger effort to reach out to women and minorities: maybe they will even back off from the hard Right Wing stance and maybe steers it away from the control of the Evangelical Right. Still, Sarah Palin is being touted as one of the "Rising Stars" of the Republican Party so no doubt we'll be seeing her again in 2012--if not before.
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Frankly, I was also pleased to see that Proposition 4 was defeated roundly. This issue requiring Doctors to notify parents of a teen girl before she got an abortion--and wait 48 hours--was nothing more than an attack on Roe V Wade. Californians saw through that one. Prop 7--the messy energy innitiative--also went down to defeat. (We really dodged a bullet there.) I’m pleased that Proposition 1A passed and I only hope I live long enough to ride the high speed train between San Diego and San Francisco.
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Still, with the sweet there comes a little biter: Proposition 2 passed. While I’m glad that farm animals will have a better life I’m sure that the California consumer will end up taking it in the pocketbook. (“Free range“ chicken, beef and eggs were available for anyone who wanted them.) For those of you in favor--don’t whine when the price of meat, milk and eggs goes through the roof.
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I was disappointed (if not completely surprised) to see that Proposition 8 seems to have failed. It seems odd to me that Californians gave chickens and cattle more rights than gay couples in the state. To me, this is a victory for ignorance, fear and intolerance. I only hope that same-sex civil unions will one day have an equal status with “traditional” marriage in America.
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Still, no matter which way you voted, you’re political affiliation, nobody can deny the next few years are really going to be--interesting . . .
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Think about it.