I hoped today I would wake up to a new morning. It's beautiful and sunny, but in a way much like every other morning these days, the dark cloud has not lifted despite the sunshine. I'm trying not to be discouraged by the fact that my countrymen gave a popular mandate to this. More war, more polarization, more religion, more action based on ideology with no regard to how the Other Side feels. I'm sad that so many voted against their own interests, that so many prized empty words over actions, that we remain divided by a giant red swath, both geographically and ideologically.

Michael is wearing his USSA t-shirt today. Most of my friends are still drunk or nursing hangovers from last night's election binge. Most of them are walking around like zombies, discussing whether to move to New Zealand or Canada.

For now, I'm resisting the temptation to join my friends in alienated bitterness and discussion of friendly foreign countries. I'm not giving up. I know things have swung one way or the other before, that things can get horribly bad before they get worse, but I still hold out hope that maybe, just maybe, things can still change for the better if we don't give up. My religious faith may not match that of some of my fellow countrymen, but I have a deep and abiding faith in karma, and I am very patient.

"Presidential politics is a vicious business, even for rich white men, and anybody who gets into it should be prepared to grapple with the meanest of the mean. The White House has never been seized by timid warriors. There are no rules, and the roadside is littered with wreckage. That is why they call it the passing lane. Just ask any candidate who ever ran against George Bush -- Al Gore, Ann Richards, John McCain -- all of them ambushed and vanquished by lies and dirty tricks. And all of them still whining about it."