There is a strange, inherit disappointment when a long primary battle finally ends. I'll admit, during this most recent case of political jousting and rhetorical gymnastics, I frequently tossed and turned in bed and pulled my hair out, wondering what other fatuous articles of Obama's "dark past" Sean Hannity's interns would uncover, how Hillary would exploit it, and how the Mainstream Media would run around in circles over the story while the more important issues of the campaign were left in the rain.
Now, the fact that Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers gained more media attention than global warming and education was maddening, to say the least, but I'd be fooling myself to deny that it was great entertainment. As Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post had mused, the Primary battle of Hillary v Obama was political American Idol, complete with judges, audience voting, underdogs, and knockout performances, and also, we as political junkies consumed the shit like it was crack cocaine...and I may start suffering withdrawals in short time.
When the Primary season really got rolling in mid-January (I refuse to pay the slightest bit of attention prior to the Iowa Caucus), I had a strict regiment: I would arrive home from school and, on Mondays and Wednesdays, listen to NPR's Talk of the Nation for the latest political updates (Tues/Thur saw an immediate jump to the next step of...), then, I'd scour the various internet sources for reliable tidbits and breakout stories, from Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish to The New Republic website to my personal favorite, The Huffington Post, which offers up-to-the-second news AND some of the most insightful blogging on the World Wide Web. Then, I'd review the entire day's stories at 7 pm watching Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and THEN re-rinsing and drying the entire process with more Internet scrounging.
It was a constant, never ending process, one of information-overload, victorious fact-checking, the glory of understanding a mere portion of the American political system. So don't get me wrong, it was exhausting--at numerous times, I questioned the costs of being a well-informed member of democracy--but now that it is over, I have a strange, undeniable sensation over all the free time I seem to have, which is certainly a good thing. I still have plenty of episodes of Oz and The Wire to watch, and a DAMN good number of books to read.
The irony behind all this, of course, is that when the official Conventions occur in late August/early September, this entire process will start over again and I will be more entrenched then ever in the wonderful world of politics. Check please!
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