November, December and January will be the months of anticipation. To some folks, the anticipation will revolve around sports (football playoffs and bowl games), while others might be anticipating the Christmas season and if that new flat screen TV will be under the tree.
But the mother of all anticipation surrounds President-elect Barack Obama.
In November, December and January after the 2006 election we saw a sense of anticipation from the citizens of the United States after they had placed the Democrats in charge of the U.S. House and Senate. The Democrats, to win seats, had promised to end the war in Iraq, stop the runaway earmarking process, and give our country a real energy policy. None of that happened, but the Democrats had another card to play for the 2008 elections and that was “give us the White House and you’ll really see changes.”
So now they have control – lock, stock and barrel. The Democrats have another card to play in the next election (2010) and that would be to tell the American people to give them 60 seats in the Senate so they really install their plans and ideas (also so they can ram their bills through without any opposition). Of course, in 2012 they will tell America they aren’t done yet because it took the Republicans eight years to screw it up and they need eight years to repair it. “Don’t bring back the Bush years” will be their campaign slogan.
Who knows what will happen by the end of Obama’s first term. Will the voters be swayed with these campaign themes, or will they want a more balanced Congress and White House?
Nobody figured in the first year of the Bush Administration there would be an attack on our country. After historic high approval ratings after his first year in office, nobody would have thought his approval ratings would tank near the end of his second term. Not even the most seasoned campaign consultant will be able to predict what the future holds.
We can never know about the days to come…But we think about them anyway, yay.
And I wonder if I’m really with you now…Or just chasin’ after some finer day. Anticipation, anticipation
