Georgians are tough. It's still early in 2017 but we've already survived a winter blast, the Seattle Seahawks and the return of hundreds of politicians and lobbyists to the state capitol.
According to my Facebook feed we're going to have to get even tougher.
President Obama is leaving office at 9 a.m. Friday and, from what I've read, you'd think the Apocalypse is upon us.
One friend posted our next president will be a "total disaster." Someone suggested moving to Maine so "real Americans" can flee to Canada if it gets "really bad."
The temperature in Atlanta is over 70 degrees in January. In Maine, the high temp is close to freezing. I think I'll stay right here, thank you.
I'm rarely accused of cheerful optimism, but, like the aforementioned winter storm, things probably won't turn out so bad it requires a moving van.
Still, elections and stock markets constantly remind me I'm not good at predicting the future.
Prior to voting I carefully consider how I feel about each of the important issues and find the candidate that thinks the most like me. Then I vote against that idiot.
This election I once again backed an underdog who had no chance.
Asking Libertarians to vote is like taking a vegetarian deer hunting. The only reason they show up is to complain.
There's a bit of that attitude in today's headlines.
The United States is great for many reasons, including non-government ownership of mass media. In the good ol' USA we can write pretty much any headline we want and not get thrown in a gulag. That's great for free speech but today's headlines seem a tad heavy on the doom and gloom angle.
As a test, go to Google and type "Trump news" and look at headlines.
Here's a sampling:
- As Trump era arrives, a sense of uncertainty grips the world
- For Trump, three decades of chasing deals in Russia
- Poll: Trump will take office as least popular president in at least 4 decades
Now let's check out "Clinton news."
- Van Jones slams Trump as 'pathological liar with a Twitter addiction'
- Feiner: Create 'almost president' Hillary Clinton museum
- Hillary Clinton-spotting is the hottest new hobby
What about "Republican news?"
- Fear spurs support for health law as Republicans work to repeal it
- Republican says with Trump 'impeachment needs to be on the table'
"Democrat news" yields:
- The Most Successful Democrat Since FDR (about President Obama)
- Key Democrat requests tax returns from Trump's education pick
Call me crazy, but it seems there's some unhappy campers out there.
Am I naive? Is it always this way? Does the winner get nasty headlines? Has it always been this obvious?
Maybe. But the guy who bought 12 cans of soup before it didn't snow has learned sunny days are rarely in the forecast.
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