The quadrennial nightmare is almost over

Voting was quite easy this morning at my precinct -- at least for us old-timers.   The Georgia voting regulations have a heart for seniors:   anyone over 75 gets to go to the head of the line.  But even as I was heading toward the front to tell a poll worker my age, a young man offered me a place in line in front of him.   This was all very refreshing after the rancor and meanness of the campaign.

Now the waiting begins.    Nate Silver's prediction this morning is 91.6% for Obama, while another academic prediction model predicts 92%.  InTrade is also up from the high 60% level to 71.6 this morning.   So we should be feeling confident, with the momentum definitely in Obama's direction.  But I won't rest easy until we begin to hear some results.

For months it seemed like this day would never arrive, or not soon enough anyway.  Now that it's here, my feelings are mixed:   hope that my optimism (and Nate Silver's data) are not off track, not quite ready for the exhiliration that will come if they're borne out, and dread that the polls are wrong or that the Republicans will steal the votes (they're trying in every way possible -- out in droves to challenge voters in black-majority precincts in Ohio). 

Take a few deep breaths . . .    Our guadrennial nightmare is almost over.  Unless chads hang in Florida . . . again.


For what they're worth to help pass the waiting time, I'll be posting some randome thoughts, observations, and light hearted put-downs of the other side throughout the day.

Ralph