Breakneck pace

Doyce and Kate were over last night for a bit, and we chatted about this and that, the subject inevitably circling around to the election. And both of them did a bit of gentle ribbing that I’d been, um, vigorous in my political blogging of late.

Which is true. Part of that has been the tools — Google Reader makes it wildly easy to read and share more web stuff than I could possibly otherwise browse, which in turn provides fodder for further blog posts consolidating those links (political and non) into a narrative, if not a list of bullets. That Google Reader is accessible in a far-too-convenient fashion on my Blackberry adds to the flow of fun.

By the same token, the subject has swept me up. I am not some dewy-eyed optimist who thinks that Barack Obama is the be-all, end-all of great leaders. He may turn out that way (and he certainly has more of the makings of such than many another candidate that’s come down the garden path), but I’m neither expecting perfection nor historic greatness.

But my loathing for the Bush Administration, my growing disgust with John McCain’s shift to the right, and the appalling choice of Sarah “Heartbeat Away, You Betcha!” Palin has energized me with a passion (and blog output) I’ve not had since the run-up to the War in Iraq (and here’s hoping that’s not an omen). The prospect of a McCain/Palin win so dismays me, that anything I can do to pass along information, opinion, and amusing videos to prevent it feels less like a casual pastime and more like a civic duty.

I don’t expect this “surge” will last. Indeed, I hope not. I expect that, after the election and Obama’s win, I’ll be able to taper off into a bit lighter tone and pace, content with noting what last-second shenanigans the White House is going through before they get the boot (expect fleets of shredding trucks), and bemoaning the blow to Tina Fey’s career.

That’s my hope, at least. Otherwise, it’s going to be a very long four years.