Anchoring the Long Haul

Most of you, I imagine, have the luxury of cable TV. Since I don't, I have to rely on the "big three" for my election returns and commentary. Living on the west coast makes this especially entertaining, because we have the Time Zone Coherency Factor Advantage.

After about midnight PST tonight, when Amy and I began speculating as to whether George Will was the victim of an entire can of AquaNet or simply sportin' a 'piece, the broadcast anchors started falling apart. I remember watching this happen in 2000 as well, and things haven't changed much.

Peter Jennings gets downright pissy. He cuts off his statisticians in mid-sentence, condescends to his people in the field, and tends to smirk when projecting a state in favor of John Kerry. Dan Rather gets a bit punchy. The drawl's a little more pronounced, there's the occasional chuckle, and if you're paying close attention, you might even catch a goofy down-home Texan idiom or two. But my favorite just might be Tom Brokaw, who sounds more with every passing hour as though he's enjoying his own behind-the-anchor-desk electoral college drinking game ("Somebody said 'Too close to call' -- pass the tequila!").

I hope you exercised your rights and voted today. As of this hour, we don't yet have official word on who will be our president for the next four years. We might know in the morning, we might not know for days or weeks. Whatever the outcome, though, I hope you'll join me in respecting the office, and respecting the man who holds that office, regardless of his party affiliation or your own personal feelings. President of the United States is the toughest job in the world, and it's 100% guaranteed to be held by a fallible human being.

(Of course I'm not saying "don't make jokes." Who are you talking to, here, anyway?)