I thought about writing an election column. In fact, I wrote three of them, and they all sucked. Everyone else is saying the same thing and saying it with a lot more panache. In short, you can vote for what hasn't worked, you can vote for what might (or might not) work or you can not vote.

If you don't vote, you should be shot. Well, maybe not. We do live in a democracy--or a republic, anyway. And people don't get shot for no voting.

On second thought, if you don't vote you should be shot.

And if you vote Republican, you ought to get your ass sent over to Iraq first thing Wednesday morning. Sayonara, sucker.

Okay, that's done. But I still don't feel any better. I haven't even seen a single election ad (I guess the politicians don't think the Fox Soccer Channel is a market worth tapping) and I'm still worn out. I suppose some of that has to do with the fact that my wife was sent up to Rhode Island yesterday (on our 11th anniversary, no less) so that she could spend some quality time with Lincoln Chafee on the off chance he pulls out his re-election bid for the Senate.

Actually, I suppose a lot of it has to do with that. I get a little cranky when my one shot at a decent restaurant meal in a couple months get yanked out from under me--after I've showered and shaved. Don't get me wrong. I like politics and I find the dynamics behind this election really interesting, but I'm ready for the voting to be over. Let's put the hammer down and speed up the clock. You know, like college football did this year.

Unfortunately, we've got two days until the deal is done. And when it's done, we'll have a while until we see whether the Prez is more like Bill Clinton or...hmmm.

It's hard to find a valid comparison because no lame duck president (remember, we've only had three of those--Nixon quit before the 1974 elections) has lost even one house of Congress with two years left in his term. Clinton lost both after his first two years, and many have argued that the 1994 election might well have saved his presidency. In other words, he figured out how to work with the Republicans.

But Clinton had decent relations with the "other side" when he retrenched. The Prez has pursued a scorched earth agenda during his six years in office. Even if he wanted to work with a Democratic House (and unless something bizarre happens, that's what he'll be facing), there's no reason why Democrats would feel obligated to deal with him at all. They could just make a lot of noise for two years and wait for a new Prez. That would be a terrible idea, of course, but it's been tried before. Remember the government shutdown of 1995?

Yes, Democratic leader have been saying all the right things, but power changes everything. I mean, the Prez didn't even get the most votes in 2000 and he acted like he's won in a landslide. More importantly, despite this outlandish display of arrogance, he got himself re-elected--with the most votes, even. So I can't say I truly believe the Democrats will do the right thing.

I have no faith in anyone right now. I have hope, but not faith. I hope the Democrats extend an olive branch to those across the aisle and to the Prez. I hope the Prez and his pals are smart enough to realize that they just might not know everything after all. And I hope things get better.

Actually, I know things will get better. History is a series of ups and downs, and we're in a real down period right now. Someday, we will climb out of this pit. I'd just prefer sooner to later.

Jon Worley isn't so much an optimist as a believer that even dead cats bounce when they hit the ground.