Goodbye and Good Riddance

To the year 2008, I say goodbye and good riddance. And later on this month, I’ll have the pleasure to say the same to an administration whose ideology far out-paced its competence. From the fiascos in Iraq and New Orleans to the willful neglect of the center of terrorism in Afghanistan, they have acted as though they expected an intervention of the Almighty to save their butts.

When the markets crashed and the larger economy began to implode, they stood idly by until backed into a corner by an ideologically divided Senate. And to date, they have done nothing to address the underlying cause of the crash: the “exotic” and unregulated financial instruments that proved to be so exotic that no one can place a value on them to date. Or really explain what they are and how they work.

The governor of Chicago (he’s never actually lived in the Springfield, the Capital) got caught trying to sell a Senate seat. Bernie Madoff admitted to a decades-long Ponzi scheme that’s taken down any number of philanthropic organizations. It’s been one mess after another to the point that I am scandal-fatigued.

Tim Russert died, so the Sunday mornings I loved no longer zing like they used to. And I loved my Sunday mornings with Tim. It’s always CBS Sunday Morning, Face the Nation and Meet the Press, and the latter was almost always the high point. Without Tim to cap it off, it falls flat more often than not.

Still, we had one good thing from 2008: a new President-elect, one known for his intellectual curiosity, openness to opposing opinions and even-temperedness. And he’s black. Never thought I’d live to see it.

I suppose I shouldn’t judge 2008 too harshly. After all, it did provide the venue for the radical wing of the Republican party to cut their own throats. After 8 years of the Administration systematically bullying and stomping down any opposition, it had no good candidate to run and, after the election, no unified agenda.

And then there was the fun of watching Sarah Palin trying to be a serious national politician. Alaska has a population of about 670,000 people, far fewer than the Austin metro area. She is the governor of a small city spread out over 572,000 square miles with a population density of 1.1 per square mile. What McCain was thinking, I don’t know. But it was fun to watch.

And we did have a lovely Thanksgiving and Christmas, playing hosts for the first time in a while. My mother and I talk more than I think we ever have. And my niece has written me several lovely letters.

And, as of today, January 1, 2009, I’ve only lost 25% of my 401(k). It was 40% in the hole a few weeks ago.

I’ve come to measure prosperity in a different light. I have an almost new car that I can afford to pay for, a job with little sign of going away, health insurance (even though it costs more than I like), more vacation time than I can take and an apartment in a neighborhood I shouldn’t be able to afford.

Still, I welcome the new year warmly and hope and pray for better days ahead. I have my fears, but I hope for the best.

Last night, a 100,000 or so people gathered downtown to watch a 34 foot tall wooden clock the cost $15,000 burn. They call it “First Night”, even though it’s really the last night and the first morning of the new year. And while I wasn’t on hand to witness the spectacle and have qualms about setting anything that cost that much on fire, I’m sure it was cathartic for those who were there.

Nothing says goodbye and good riddance like burning down a 34 foot tall $15,000 clock.

Except just saying it.