11/10/00

Yes, it's me. It really is.

Anne's Journal of Minutiae

November 2000

Friday
November 10, 2000

Let me tell you about one of the worst nights of my life. Election night. I went to bed thinking that George W. Bush had been crowned our 43rd president. I had hideous nightmares all night long -- the kind where you feel trapped, with no exits and the walls are pressing in, suffocating... You get the idea. I even dreamed of drawing a razor blade across my wrists. Oh yeah. That bad.

Imagine, then, my surprise the next morning when I listened to the news. The Florida voting debacle: the demand of a recount by the Gore campaign; charges of voter fraud by the NAACP. Chaos, yes. But this news felt like a stay of execution. (Pun fully intended, Dubya.)

So who isn't talking about this election mess in Florida? Sure, I'll join in the fray -- what the heck. After that horrible Tuesday night, I think I'm entitled to it. That having been said, let me preface the following commentary by saying (or pleading, begging, praying, cajoling, prodding and noodging any god who'll listen) that I HOPE, HOPE, HOPE that when all is said and done, Al Gore emerges victorious, 25 precious Florida electoral votes in hand, to become our 43rd President.

Al Gore. Al Gore. Al Gore. Yes, I voted for Al Gore -- and yes, I am a Democrat (although I did vote for a Libertarian State Assembly candidate this election). I like Al Gore -- I really do. Oh, I can imagine you shaking your head, lips pursed sourly, muttering, "How can she say that? A wooden policy wonk like Gore! Ugh." Well, what's so bad about being a "policy wonk" anyway? That tells me he's got a good handle on the issues.

I've admired Al Gore ever since he got the moniker "pit bull" during the 1988 primary. I really wanted to vote for him then -- barely forty, the guy had fire in the belly, completely unafraid of confronting his foes. Smart as a whip (and a former journalist), able to think on his feet. No blank deer-caught-in-headlights looks from this guy. Oh noooo. But before long, Al had dropped out of the race and we got the robotic Michael Dukakis. And we all know how the story went after that...

Al Gore deserves to be President of the United States. Damn, he even looks presidential, if that matters. He's intelligent, articulate, very well-versed on the issues and has a decent list of accomplishments. I was very pleased when Clinton chose Gore as his running mate eight years ago. I waited eight years for Gore to have a chance at the White House. I could breathe easily for at least another four years with Al Gore at the helm. Little did I know that being part of a successful administration which has presided over the longest period of peace and prosperity would just NOT be enough to get Al Gore easily elected. Who'd have thought that? Or does it only work for Republicans who purchase a fake prosperity with foreign loans which create a deficit of leviathan proportions, resulting in a serious stock market crash, followed by a period of high inflation and high unemployment? And Dubya's dad got elected in '88 because he was part of that team? Huh???

Let me tell you that the spectre of a George W. Bush presidency sends an ominous ink-chill up and down my spine. How can I put this ... ah ... delicately? Oh heck -- I'm in the mood to be brusque and, quite frankly, righteously pissed off.

On the surface, Dubya may seem like an affable guy. And people might be a tad beguiled by his quaint malapropisms. But the vibe I get from this dude is ... well ... that he's a moron. A clueless, party-hearty dolt. He really is. And I'm not saying this because he's a Republican -- of course not. Republicans can be just as smart or stupid as Democrats -- it would be stupid to think otherwise. I never thought George W's dad was stupid and I certainly never thought Dole was an idiot. And I really hate calling someone in public office a certified lamebrain. I really do. Because it's rather pathetic. But George W. is not very bright -- actually, not bright at all. The scariest thing about stupid people ascending a position of power ... oh, like Leader of the Free World for instance ... is that they usually end up depending on the intellectual largesse of those much smarter than they are, to assist them in making important decisions.

And, of course, as there are good Smart People, there are always the evil Smart People. And evil Smart People tend to find stupid people in positions of power (or help to put them there). The evil Smart People which scare the living shit out of me are "inner circle" Republicans. Yes, the evil puppetmasters have been busily attaching strings to Dubya Bush posthaste. Even they know that if George W. had not been born the son of a wealthy and powerful man, he'd most likely be driving a truck or working in an auto parts store right now.

And I do believe that Dubya still has some serious unresolved drug issues. The first two debates pretty much confirmed my suspicions that the governor is still snorting Bolivian Marching Powder. The profuse sweating (the temperature had been set at 65 degrees because of the hot lights; Gore and Lehrer didn't appear overheated), the constant sniffing of his nose (trying to avert a nosebleed, George?), the fidgeting, the constant sipping of water, the stammering ...

I spent three and a half years surrounded by clandestine cocaine-snorters when I worked at EF Hutton. I could tell when whenever my manager and supervisor had been doing lines. I know the signs because I've seen enough of it. I'm willing to bet that if I had been able to look closely at Dubya's eyes during those first two debates, I would've noticed massively dilated pupils. Why was he so subdued during the third debate? Because his aides probably told him he'd have to go before the American people straight and sober this time.

I do not want a coke-head, junkie president. And I don't want a stupid one either.

In the wake of this Florida election debacle, Dubya seems pretty darn cocky and confident. A little too confident. As if he'd known all along that he would "win." That someone would "help" him win -- by hook or by crook (mostly, methinks, by "crook"). Hmmmm. Methinks perhaps some familial favors were called. Do the math (and it ain't so fuzzy): Jeb Bush, younger bro of Dubya is Governor of Florida. Hmmmm. And the Republicans knew there'd be a large African-American turnout, likely voting for Gore. Hmmmm. Ballot boxes in heavily black counties (Dade, Broward) mysteriously disappearing. Hmmmm. African-American motorists on their way to the polls stopped randomly and detained by Troopers (and, according to Dubya, we don't need a national anti racial-profiling law?). Hmmmm. Black voters being told by poll-workers that "there aren't enough ballots," then turning those voters away. Huh??? In the afternoon already???? Excuse me, but polling precincts always, always overstock on ballots -- just in case. No WAY they ran out of ballots that soon. Thank God for the NAACP -- thank God they knew this kind of shit might go down. Jeez, you'd think this was 1950.

Oh, and those now notorious "butterfly" ballots in Palm Beach County. Man. Look, I don't give a crap if Palm Beach Registrar of Voters Teresa Lapore is a Democrat, and that she was the one who "developed" this mutant ballot. Just because a person is a registered Democrat, it cannot be supposed that they will always support and vote for Democratic candidates. Does the term "Reagan Democrats" mean anything to you? In fact, I think it's all too convenient that Ms. Lapore is a Democrat. I also think it's all too convenient that 19,000 (probably Gore supporters) had their ballots disqualified because of "errors" made on this so-called "test." Testing ballots during a presidential election? Hello??? Couldn't they have tested them on a proposition-only ballot instead? What timing, eh?

Of course there should be a re-vote in Palm Beach County. People have the power. Nineteen thousand (and more) voters certainly think so. Republicans argue that with a re-vote people will know that they can affect the election's outcome and will come out heavily for Gore. Well, ummm, correct me if I'm wrong but I think that the people who correctly voted for Bush the first time will still do so again. And as for any new voters, well -- perhaps this will fire them up for the next election, and the one after that, etc. The people will finally have proof that EVERY VOTE COUNTS. Oh, but I guess that large voter turnout bodes ill for Republicans.

In a surprising display of humility, Pat Buchanan went on record apologizing for the Palm Beach ballot confusion. "I certainly do not want votes I don't deserve," Buchanan said. I think the planets may be aligning soon.

So now Dubya fancies himself King-apparent, meeting with his "foreign policy" advisors and putting together an interim "transition team." One journalist said that Dubya is trying to "psych-out" the Gore people by "measuring the drapes" at the White House. Cocky and arrogant -- and quite spoiled-brattish, I might add. Yup, George is showing his true face -- not quite the face he has shown to the American people during the campaign. What happened to the shrugging, aw-shucks-I'm-just-an-average-guy mien, huh? Looks like the recalcitrant frat-boy is finally emerging.

Yes, I'd have to say that G.W. Bush is just a tad too confident. So sure that he'd been "elected" long before the first vote had been cast. So sure that his Republican cronies had "fixed" everything for him. After all, if you can't win "fair and square," then cheat your way to the top. I only hope that justice will prevail -- and I don't give a shit how long it takes, dammit. I can wait it out. I only hope that when everything is sorted out, it will be Albert Gore, Jr who will be taking the oath of office for President of the United States in January, 2001. Please, please dear merciful God. Amen.

(Enough of the political stuff -- for now. I just had to vent.)

On a light-hearted note. And yes, I need that right about now. I happened upon this picture of one of Bush's twin daughters. It appears that she's driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo like mine -- it's even the same color, CharGold II. How 'bout that? And she's wearing her seatbelt properly.