Moving Right Along . . .

It's been a week since the most historic presidential election of our lifetime (they say that every four years, but in this case it really was true), and the transition of power has already begun. The George W. Bushes and the Barack Obamas got together at the White House Monday for a tour of the place, and to have a nice chat without the cameras present. When the current and future First Couples posed for pictures, it all seemed so . . . unremarkable.

History has turned a page (uh huh), as Sonny and Cher used to say. As evidenced by the publication of Newsweek's post-election special issue, all the cast of characters have become trivia answers. Remember Rudy "a noun, a verb and 9/11" Giuliani? The inevitability of Hillary Clinton's nomination? Reverend Jeremiah Wright? Joe the Plumber (hope that country music career works out)? John Edwards getting caught with his pants down? Sarah Palin? Tina Fey as Sarah Palin? John McCain's town hall meetings? The Bradley effect? CNN's holograms? Good times.

But now the economy is dominating the news. Unemployment is up, and so have foreclosures. The auto industry is in big trouble, looking for the same bailout the government just gave to companies like AIG--which promptly used it to party hearty. Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy and closed some of its stores. Does anyone really care what Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow have to say about it?

Oh sure, here in Minnesota we have the disputed U.S. Senate contest between GOP incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger Al Franken. Coleman claims victory even though he only leads by 206 votes (the latest figure), and the lead keeps shrinking all the time. That's just before the official recount, folks.

Are you really missing those thrilling days of yesteryear, when there used to be a debate every week, attack ads on every channel, and conflicting poll numbers in every media outlet? Frankly, we don't. Politics may be fun for some people and an obsession to others, and it provides an endless source of material for blogs like this one. It's just nice to have it in the rear view mirror--at least until 2010.