the trouble with happiness on a sunday afternoon

at some point, after you've finished the sublime bel canto and you've surfed all the internet your feeble, stolen connection will allow, you content yourself with fixating on electoral-vote.com and WILLING those red states to turn blue. who knows whether it will be your effort, or the effort of the brave footsoldiers of democracy going door to midwestern door, that will loosen the crimson grip on ohio? who knows anything anymore about political progress, except that no one's allowed to be apolitical at the moment, and if you try, some earnest young fresh-faced traveler will intrude on your peace, clipboard in hand, more persistent than the jehovah's witnesses ever were.

oh, and i wish the democrats would stop saying that this isn't a popularity contest. of course it is. of course every election is. the republicans know that: that's why they run popular people. we sound peevish when we complain, peevish and naive. besides, i don't remember any such complaining when clinton ran against dole.