Whose House?

A couple of things:

1. Last night was damn incredible.

2. John McCain’s concession speech was fantastic. (And if he had been that candidate throughout the campaign, the election may have turned out differently.)

3. Obama’s acceptance speech was damn incredible.

4. I hope I never see Sarah Palin again.

As you might expect, there was euphoric pandemonium in DC last night.  (Here’s a snapshot; that first video was shot a few blocks away from my apartment.) In fact, we slept in D’s living room to try and shut out some of the noise.

I would still describe the vibe as electrifying and dream-like. As I walked past the rows of newspaper stands this morning I almost felt like I was dreaming, or like I was in some sort of weird Back to the Future scenario, where I had inadvertently done something in the future to cause an unlikely outcome for the present.**

Stupidly, I never really thought about how it would feel to live in DC  during an election year. Some of you have emailed me asking about it, and strangely, D sort of answered that question on our way home from an election party:

“This morning I finally figured out what I would tell people when they ask me what it was like to live in DC. I’ll tell them that it’s sort of like living in the movie Election. Pretty much everyone is like Tracey Flick; a bunch of nerds who desperately wanted to win student council.”

I would post that without comment, except that I watched a person cry every time Barack won a state last night, and I found it funny yet fascinating: I’m just not wired that way.

Nonetheless, I’m probably going to take a personal day on Inauguration Day to watch the parade and a little history in the making.

**This makes no sense to you unless you’re an ardent BtF fan.

Joe McCain: Denny Crane Personified?

In DC-area news today:

A 911 tape, reportedly of Sen. John McCain ’s brother Joe, could prove controversial for the McCain camp since the call was not for an emergency, but rather to complain about being stuck in traffic.

The call came into Alexandria’s 911 system on October 21.

Operator: 911 state your emergency

Caller: It’s not an emergency, but do you know why on one side at the damn drawbridge of 95 traffic is stopped for 15 minutes and yet traffic’s coming the other way?

Operator: Sir, are you calling 911 to complain about traffic? (pause)

Caller: “(Expletive) you.” (caller hangs up)

Forget that his brother is trying to clinch a national election—doesn’t this sound exactly like something Denny Crane would do? (Btw, if you don’t already watch Boston Legal, you should start. Pretty good.)

Larry David: Waiting for November 4th

The one concession I’ve made to maintain some form of sanity is that I’ve taken to censoring my news, just like the old Soviet Union. The citizenry (me) only gets to read and listen to what I deem appropriate for its health and well-being. Sure, there are times when the system breaks down. Michele Bachmann got through my radar this week, right before bedtime. That’s not supposed to happen. That was a lapse in security, and I’ve had to make some adjustments.

Incidentally, this is exactly how I feel about the Huffington Post (I quit reading it for politics)—where I happened upon Larry David’s election neurosis.

But I guess some things happen for reason. Because I’ll be galdamned if it isn’t one of the funniest things I’ve read this week. Check it out.