Sea change (see change?)

Well, I see that the Republicans took over the house, but failed to take control of the Senate.

I can't say that I'm overly surprised or too broken up over it. The same thing happened, only worse, after Clinton's first two years, and that's when he became a truly great President.

I'm not completely convinced that Obama's got what Clinton was made of, but even if he doesn't, perhaps there's something to be said for divided control of our governing bodies, and furthermore, although there's a huge hue and cry to repeal all that has been done these past two years, there's really nothing that can be done in that regard, at least for another two years. Still, it will make things interesting.

The only thing I worry about is that what made Clinton great was that he was able in his later years to find common interest and achieve compromise by reaching across the aisle. Even in spite of a government shutdown and impeachment proceedings.

I'm not sure that sort of compromise is possible, nowadays. Some of these people were elected with the mandate NOT to find common agreement in anything. If that's the case, I'm not exactly sure what will be accomplished these next two years. Can America afford to have things put on pause, moving in any direction, for that long?

Hey, maybe. Think of it as a period of digestion, after you've had a huge Thanksgiving dinner.

It will also be interesting to see whether these folks change as they move from politicking to actually attempting to govern. The two are completely different, as Obama has discovered. That's going to be really fun to watch.

Food and Chicago.

Just arrived back from a three day trip to Chicago. Some thoughts:

--The first night, we ate at a place called Spiaggia, a four star Italian joint which is supposed to be Obama's favorite restaurant in Chicago. I can see why. The food was terrific, especially the tray of tiny gelati e sorbetto they served at the end. Eight different flavors, served in a shell, all in a row!

--The next night, ate at Ditka's. Liked this one even better, because it spoke to the carnivore in me. The steak was delicious, as were the ribs, and the sides of pork they served were roughly the size of bronto burgers.

--Barely made my plane today. The line at O'Hare was insane and the system they had in place for checking bags didn't make much sense. And then, once I get on the plane, the guy next to me was eating Chinese food that smelled delicious. Since I hadn't eaten lunch, the next two hours were torture.

--Finished the Hunger Games trilogy on the trip. I was going to save the last book for the plane rides, but couldn't wait, and finished it off my first night there. Probably the most engaging series of books I've read in years.

While I like Chicago, especially the architecture, I have to admit, it's not my favorite city. It just feels flat to me, for some reason, which leaves me with a low underlying sense of depression. Last time I was here, I was totally down in the dumps the morning of my last day. I recall vividly sitting in my hotel room, feeling this overwhelming sense of depression. Didn't feel it that bad this time around, but I guess I'm just an East Coast kind of guy, at heart.