Since I already sent my serious post, I just wanted to chime in withan anecdote. I was in Washington D.C. last night, staying two blocksfrom the White House. At 11:30 pm, a half hour after the results wereannounced, I happened to walk past a very stuffy private club, onethat, as far as I can tell, is populated exclusively by hardcoreRepublican men in their later years. It's the kind of place where youcan imagine lobbyists slipping bribes to judges, and Central Americancoups being plotted... or maybe it's just me. Anyway, as I passed by,two men in black uniforms were high-fiving each other and hootingwith delight. From what I could tell, one man was the doorman at theclub, the other the chauffeur for one of the club members. Both wereAfrican American.
Just then, the club door opened and a bloated, red-faced stereotypeof a man walked out. He was utterly miserable; he defined the word"scowl." The two uniformed men immediately returned to their duties:one held open the club door, the other held open the car door. But asthey stood at attention, I'm pretty sure I noticed them share afurtive smile.
That, for me, was D.C. last night. Of course the dynamics of wealthand privilege that define the city are still intact. But for onenight the people holding open the doors were a hell of a lot happierthan the ones walking through them.