Has Anybody Seen My Cynicism?

Finally, we've got a tiny accumulation of snow in DC. Nothing to write home about of course, but it was enough to have to shovel, which I did with great enthusiasm. In fact, I shoveled the whole block. I think I was trying to avoid coming inside and blogging. I have had a difficult time posting lately. My partner A. suggests that it's because I'm not angry all the time, and I kind of think she's right.

It's really refreshing to discover that "Change You Can Believe In" is more than a campaign slogan. Like other liberals, I wondered how much President Obama might move to the center when he took office. My worries have been for nothing it seems, as I couldn't be happier about the progress of the last week. It's not like all of the country's problems are solved, far from it, but it seems like great ideas are on the table, close Gitmo, get the troops out of Iraq, tighten emissions standards, move towards energy independence, and while we're doing it, create jobs.

I still worry about the economy. Unemployment figures are no longer abstract numbers, they have become real people who I know personally who have been laid off, and are desperately seeking work. I worry when I hear the details of the stimulus plan, the amount of money it will cost is staggering, but on the other hand, I think it is quite possibly the last option we have left. If it works, and it is handled well, we will be bankrupt with a growing economy, if it doesn't work....we're already bankrupt, in debt up to our eyeballs. I say let's roll the dice, double or nothin'. With good ideas, and grown-ups in the Administration, it might turn out okay.

This new optimism is a little scary. We're facing all sorts of terrible odds, and as bad as things are right now in this country, there are many places you could live in the world that would be much worse. If we're facing the Second Great Depression, or the End of Days, at least in America, the TV still works.

And there's always the dollar menu at McDonald's.

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