Opinion

A friend has a post-election analysis: “I’m disgusted and fed up with the working class in this country. They sold out their own self interest for the right to yell ‘faggot’ out of their pick-ups.” She’s got a point. About half of the American electorate has once again distinguished itself by preferring snake oil to vitamins—not the first time this has happened historically, not even the first time in my lifetime, but it’s always disheartening to see this self-destructive behavior in action. -more-

That uncanny silence you hear all over Berkeley is the sound of more than a hundred thousand people simultaneously holding their breath until the election is over. This paper will be on the stand for three days, and it’s a pretty fair bet that most Berkeleyans won’t be able to exhale until the next issue comes out, if then. The good thing about this election is that it’s got people talking to one another who have managed to disagree about a lot of the important issues for the last 30 years, give or take a few. Whoever wins the presidency, there’s sure to be a post-election honeymoon during which born-again Democrats will continue to talk to one another about what’s best for the country—it’s just that different tactical responses will be required depending on who wins the presidency. Not even very different, really, because the Republicans are likely to retain control of Congress in any event. -more-