Bush and Cheney are out of office.

Driving to work and listening to NPR I was struck by the difference between the way the media covers this inauguration and the way I, at least, experience it. And this time, I am not sure that my way is any better than their way. It is just different. For them, it's the historic election of the first African-American president, day of change, jubilation, and so forth. What you do not hear in their coverage, except in very muted tones, is what is certainly screaming in my head today:

OH MY GOD, THEY'RE FINALLY GONE.

In general I think it's better, healthier, etc. to look at a situation like this in terms of the positive good coming in (i.e., Obama and what that means) rather than in terms of the vicious wastrel going out. But I can't help it. I respect Obama and am glad that his election has made so many people happy who never felt like they had a stake in the political process. But personally, for me, before I get to being happy about Obama _per se_, I have to get through a whole lot of

JESUS CHRIST, THAT BASTARD IS FINALLY OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE.

They kept interviewing bystanders about why this election was so exciting, and a lot of the time you could hear that they were trying very hard to talk about just Obama and NOT about the debacle that his inauguration ended. But you could still hear it. You could hear it in the way they described Obama's intelligence, temperate personality, willingness to listen, knowledge of the world, and so forth, as if it was a miracle that such qualities should be found in an individual who managed to become president of the United States. And I do not mean to take anything away from Obama, to whom I am grateful for many things, including his ability to win this election decisively. But in addition to the excitement he generates all by himself, when that crowd started losing its shit when he showed up, well, some of that was eight years of Bush/Cheney talking.

I have been trying to stay detached from all this somehow--maybe because I couldn't really believe that it would all eventually be over some day. But it is. It's over. What Bush wants or what Cheney thinks is necessary DOESN'T MATTER ANY MORE. They don't get to run my country.

Yes, they were retired 8 years too late. Still. They're gone. Thank God.

I hope Obama justifies every single piece of hyperbole anyone has ever slung about him. I really do. Because that's what it's gonna take to get us out of the hole we're in.

So, I will sign off now, and go practice hoping that.

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard and so long to make this moment happen. And thank you DU, for seeing us all through 8 of the worst years this country has ever seen.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder