Cliff Hanger

As I write this (yesterday), we still don’t know the outcome of Tuesday’s Presidential election. When I wrote last week, I was naively hoping that whatever the outcome, there would be a landslide. Who would have thought it would be this close? Certainly not me.

I was thinking back to the last time we had a jump ball in the Presidential election, which brought me back to Bush/Gore. The difference that time was we were getting a new President, whichever way it ended, as Bill Clinton was termed out and could not be a candidate. This time it’s different. We have an incumbent President running for re-election. Last time the incumbent lost was Bush 41, who lost to Bill Clinton in 1992 in what seemed like much simpler times.

And again, naively, I was hoping for an uncontested result this time, without litigation and with an orderly transition of power. It looks like that won’t be the case, and maybe rightly so. It’s close in a lot of states and the process has to play out.

All the votes, cast in accordance with federal and state laws, have to be counted. If the tally is close enough in certain states, there will need to be recounts to make sure the original counts are accurate. Everyone who voted properly deserves to have their vote counted and their voice heard.

And it looks like the Senate will remain in Republican hands (as of this writing it’s 47/48.) If the Republicans hold the Senate and Biden wins the presidency, those dreaded talked-about Democratic tax increases will most likely not see the light of day. That may be the silver lining in all this craziness.

If I had to guess, the nearly inevitable litigation surrounding the result (whichever way it goes) may not give us closure until Inauguration Day in January, although hopefully I’m wrong about that and we will have our answer sooner (maybe even by the time you read this). Let’s hope we don’t have to wait until 2021.

Next Wednesday is Veterans Day. To all those serving and who have served, and their families who have sacrificed right alongside them, we honor you and thank you for putting country first. We are in your debt.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and remember we are all in this together.