mr. wood says it best

On MTV.com, of all places:

“Real-life politics has played a huge role in my work, from the Rudy Giuliani ‘Quality Of Life’ regime in the ’90s to the W. Bush legacy of war, torture, illegal politics, occupation and terrorism. But this morning it was impossible to get up after a long night watching election news and put myself into the necessary pessimist headspace to work on the latest ‘DMZ’ script. It’s been a long eight years in this country, where things unimaginable only a few years before that have been committed in our name, flying in the face of our own Constitution, domestic and international law, not to mention common sense and decency. It’s impossible not to get excited even at the idea or possibility of a change, and the fact that Obama was elected so quickly and with such surety is amazing, just absolutely world-changing. As cliché as it sounds, nothing will be the same from this point on. So while my writing on ‘DMZ’ has trained me to look at politics in the most cynical way possible, for today at least I just pushed the keyboard back and enjoyed thinking of the best-case scenario instead.”

Couldn’t help but sneak in the videos on CNN between work minutes today. There was this one video of Colin Powell that just -

Yeah, I admit it. I started bawling.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. If you’d asked me… at the beginning of the year, even… if I’d ever dream of, let alone consider, the possibility that a black man would be nominated for President in my lifetime…

I would have said, no way. No way.

Let alone get elected. By a landslide.

(By the by, I plan to be alive for at least as many years as I’ve been here already.)

There was a time when I followed American politics. Heavily. When I was in high school, I went through a Kennedy phase, complete with coffee table books on my Christmas list. My undergraduate degree from Trinity College was in Political Science - specifically, American political theory. I knew Federalist #10 like the back of my hand. I slept on the floor in some community center in New Hampshire for Clinton in ‘92 (next to Jay Wise, subject of this comic here - he was an International Relations kind of guy - totally over my head, which contributed to the smartypants dreamboat appeal, I’m sure). I spent one of the best summers of my life answering phones mere steps from the Senate floor… those in the Leader’s office full-time at the time told me that I was the only intern whom Senator Mitchell addressed by name on a regular basis. Ever.

(When that whole Monica Lewinsky thing went down, my mom kind of freaked out. “Oh my God, you were 20 when you were in Washington. Some dirty old man could have taken advantage of you!” Ahem.)

Anyway. I gave it up. Cold turkey.

Why? Because I am a squishy being, who can be completely upended by the energy around her. Willful ignorance? Perhaps to some. For me, it’s survival. I make no apologies about it. (Getting out of bed in the morning is too darned important to me - what can I say?)

Now, I just might start watching the news again.

(Y’know. Within reason. If people shut up about the economy, perhaps.)