True North

OK, you can call me a cauci-ed optimist, but I'm just going to be happy this over-hyped, over-loaded and overly stressful caucus period is over.   While some will be propelled into the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) or merely pick their favorite and linger there, some will need the longer 12-step program offered by AA and others.  (Step 1, I admit I'm a political junkie.)  Still others will analyze the daylights out of it.  Please!

Instead, I choose to look at the evening's events on the bright side:

  1.  I'm going to assume that the MNGOP really had no earthly idea of how many people were going to turn out, or they would have told us to get bigger venues and plan for 3-4 times the normal turnout, instead of telling us the day before to expect twice the normal number.  I prefer "pleasant surprise" to "blind stupidity" as an explanation, every time.

  2.  I'm going to believe that all of these people turned out because they finally saw their civic duty clearly, rather than just being scared to death of Hillary, Queen of the the Darkness.  

  3.  I'm going to believe that all or most of them were hard-core conservative Republicans, based on the overwhelming vote AGAINST McCain, and on the few, but seriously conservative resolutions that were brought forward.   

  4.  I'm going to try to believe that all of these people will STAY involved even if their favored candidate drops out of the race.  At least by convention time, 4 of the 5 groups of supporters will be disappointed, but needed more than ever. 

  5.  I'm going to imagine that I can persuade some of the McCain backers that he is NOT the only one who can beat Hillary, or Obama, and that even were that true, it maybe is not quite enough.   Unfortunately that argument also applies to Norm Coleman and Tim Pawlenty, so I may have to change my tune or, optimistically, maybe they will change theirs?

The best thing I'm doing for my mental health is to swear off all TV and printed news media for the next few days, at least.   They've done as much damage as they are going to do to the political process, as far as I'm concerned, and I would encourage others to take this singularly effective mental health step.  Smile; everything's going to be O....K.

Cross-posted at Freedom Dogs.