* To be sure, compromise will be a key post-election theme. But compromise, of course, requires partners. Perhaps the process started with two gracious speeches: one of concession, one of victory.
Would that congressional obstructionists and filibusterers heed the advice of an election-night Mitt Romney who challenged lawmakers to “put people before politics” and end “partisan bickering.” He was no whiner.
As to the winner, he has retained his presidency and his party kept its Senate majority. The re-elected president pointed out that Americans had “voted for action not business as usual” and reminded us that “we are more than a collection of red and blue states.” Then Barack Obama underscored that for America “the best is yet to come.”
If this is our destiny, it began Tuesday night. If it’s not, we’ll know right away. It will look like the last four years–starting with fiscal cliff-diving stare-downs.
* Regardless of Rick Scott and the politicization of the voting process, shouldn’t duty, honor, privilege, right and self-interest be enough of a motivator for all but the aged and infirm? Doesn’t making democracy meaningful matter? Too many eligible voters–nearly a third in Florida–still didn’t vote.
* How appallingly embarrassing that Florida still can’t do elections right. Last time it was hanging chads. This time it was a Republican Party cabal, which should be a hanging offense, that wrought chaos through voter-suppression tactics.
* And how ironic that the state that reduced early-voting days induced (Miami-Dade) late voting on Wednesday morning because of obscenely-long lines. And what a sham that Miami-Dade voters were still in line when the election was called for President Obama.
* GOP takeaway from Mitt Romney’s loss: a primary competition that forces the winner to appease the far right and then tack unconvincingly to the center doesn’t work well in November. Prime example: Mitt Romney running to the right of Rick Perry on immigration in the debates. Think Hispanics, the fastest growing segment of our population, didn’t file that dismissive “self-deportation” response? Demographically-challenged Republicans keep adding to their burgeoning Latino-vote problem–except, of course, for South Florida, which is a parallel-universe anomaly.
* Latest election-politics oxymoron: In-person absentee ballots. Previous best example: compassionate conservative.
* Schadenfreudenian slips: Anyone else find themselves switching to Fox News periodically to revel in all those fair-and-balanced sighs, furrowed brows and lame spin?
* Too bad that overly long ballot with all those ridiculously lengthy constitutional amendments didn’t have a #13, the “Brevity and truth in labeling” Amendment. As in: “It’s hereby prohibited to impose on the voting public outrageously wordy, disingenuous, misleading, mislabeled amendments. See above.”
* The Electoral College and states’ winner-take-all formula: We’re still stuck with it.