If you know which TV classic that line came from (answer below, + bonus questions*), you might be a Boomer – and you MIGHT have decided this election.

If only we knew who is going to be our president. None of us knows, at this point (Thursday). Like most Moderates (indeed, most Americans), TMM is watching our ongoing election saga, wondering how and when it’s going to end – and holding our breath.

Since Thursday is our normal publishing day for political posts, TMM feels compelled to publish something. But with our presidential outcome (and control of the U.S. Senate) still “Too Close to Call”, it’s tough deciding what to say.

Maybe we should say our electoral college system is way too complicated, has too many potential breakdowns and delays, and should be scrapped. There is a movement toward that, and the state of CO voted to join the growing number of states pursuing it. States could still manage their elections; but if the president was elected by national popular vote (ensuring every American’s vote counts equally), we would already know who won – and could relax and get on with our lives.

Maybe we should say our system of political polling (if we can call it a system) is vastly over-rated and overly relied-on; and that the industry needs a complete overhaul. Not by governmental decree or control, since it is typically done by private companies, colleges, media and political parties. But polling must improve. Predictions have been very inaccurate in TWO national elections now – encouraging claims of voting irregularities and undermining confidence in our elections.

Maybe we should say Democrats vastly under-performed in this election YET AGAIN. The Biden-Trump race shouldn’t have been this close. Trump and Company totally mismanaged COVID, leading to a near-collapse of the economy and 230,000 dead. Trump was seen by vast numbers of Americans – including some of his own voters – as dishonest (20,000+ documented falsehoods as president, including some downplaying Coronavirus dangers), mean-spirited (viciously attacking opponents constantly), and even dangerous to our democracy (spreading misinformation often, on everything from COVID precautions to election security). Yet he STILL managed to come within a razor’s edge of winning re-election – or could still do so.

Partly because of Trump’s shortcomings and the GOP’s dogged determination to stick with him anyway, and partly because Republicans were defending far more incumbent seats than Democrats, the Dems were predicted by many to win control of the Senate. Could still happen (barely); but definitely uncertain and probably won’t be decided for weeks, until GA’s January run-off election.

Partly because of voters’ Trump Fatigue, Democrats were also predicted to increase their number of seats in the House. Ain’t happenin’. Looks like, in fact, they will lose seats, but still retain a slim majority.

TMM is non-partisan and tries to speak to Moderates of all stripes. As we’ve said, Moderates understand America needs TWO strong, believable parties competing in the political marketplace, to find the best solutions to our challenges.

So we’ll revisit Democrats’ failures in upcoming post(s). Preview: time for Democrats to clean house and start over, since their leadership has failed to block the GOP from dominating the U.S. government in recent years.

Progressive-leaning Moderates, don’t worry – Republicans won’t escape TMM’s scrutiny. Their obedient lock-step with Trump’s arrogant leadership – as well as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY), as he discarded political decency and bipartisanship, to gain and retain power for himself and his party – deserves LOTS of scrutiny.

Please stay tuned until we return to these matters. For now, TMM (like most Moderates, probably most Americans) is weary from all recent insanity, uneasily watching and waiting to see what happens next – and needing to regroup for whatever that is.

So we’re taking a few days off, returning soon. Maybe sooner than we’d like, if upcoming developments deserve (or demand) some Moderate viewpoints, which seems likely.

In the meantime, let’s all take a deep breath, remain vigilant but patient, let our imperfect but well-intentioned system do its work – and TRY to remember we’re all Americans, needing to unite when this is over, respect each other, and work together (hopefully with leadership inspiring us to do that).

As our politicians typically end their speeches, “May God bless America”. It seems we need that now, more than ever.

 

* Answer:

Hogan’s Heroes (CBS; 1965 – 1971)

Bonus Points:

Which character often spoke that line?

Who were the other two main characters?

Which actor also appeared and later became the original host of a popular TV game show?

Answers:

Dim-witted but likeable Sergeant Hans Schultz, played by John Banner.

American Colonel Robert Hogan, played by Bob Crane; he often outsmarted his German captors.

German Colonel Wilhelm Klink, played by Werner Klemperer; he was the gullible prison camp commandant.

Richard Dawson played Corporal Peter Newkirk; he later hosted Family Feud.

 

Images: Google Images

Ballots: AP

Trump and Biden: Fox News

Electoral College map: AS English

Trump and Biden (multiple images): NDSU – Spectrum

Senate map: Bloomberg Government

Pelosi: New York Post

Trump and McConnell: Florida Politics

Hogan’s Heroes: Allied Pixel

Banner: Meme Generator

Crane and Klemperer: Nostalgia Central

Dawson: Pinterest