The Week of Living Dangerously, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise

January 7, 2012 Martha Thomases 12 Comments

The first week of 2012 is over.  Was it good for you?

Unlike in previous election years, the first votes were cast this week, right after the holidays.  Tonight, there’s another Republican debate. If, like me, you enjoy watching the country at least pretend to be interested in politics, these are heady days.

Here are some things I’m anticipating with great pleasure.

•  I loathe Newt Gingrich, but I’m excited to see him get nasty about Mitt Romney  So far, Mittens has shrugged off any charges Newt has raised, and I think this is only going to further enrage Gingrich.  By January 21, the South Carolina primary, I expect one or both of them to explode.

•  All the Republican candidates should be afraid of Newt.  Look what happened the last time someone got between him and a seat on Air Force One.

• For a while, it looked as if Rick Perry was going to get out of the race.  However, he’s in it for another few weeks, and maybe that’s long enough for some reporter to ask him to deny this.

• Another fun debate will be the one the Republicans have about birth control now that Santorum, this week’s front-runner, has come out against it.  If there’s anything that says, “We’re listening to the Tea Party and will get government out of people’s lives,” it’s criminalizing decisions about the size and timing of one’s family.  I hope they go as far as putting this plank into the party platform at the convention in Tampa.

• In order to run against any one of these guys, Obama is going to have to stop being so conciliatory and instead hold onto his positions.  If the last four years have taught us anything, it’s that Republicans, thinking they can win the White House, won’t compromise.  While I’m in favor of give-and-take in politics, I’m not in favor of take-and-take.  Maybe we’ll get back the Obama we all thought we were voting for.

I fully expect all these things to happen, and then find a way to bite me in the ass.  It will serve me right for anticipating joy in the pain of others.  Therefore, I’d like to end with one more observation.

•  We had to go to the emergency room this week, and after a stressful few hours (because there are no express lanes in the emergency room), everything was fine, and we could leave.  As we were walking out, I wished the physician’s assistant who had helped us a happy new year.  “Chinese New Year is January 23,” he said.  “And mine was in September,” I laughed.  

Every day is the start of a New Year.  Here’s hoping.

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Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, won’t be watching the Republican debate tonight.  She has Jack Benny show’s on her DVR.