Thursday, March 6, 2008

Can I start the day over?

Today I really would love to have a do-over. I stayed up too late last night because I couldn’t sleep, then I couldn’t sleep, and then I woke up in a bad mood, then I have been cranky …… I haven’t been very nice today and have said some cranky things that I wish I hadn’t said……boy, I would love a do-over.

There are so many times in our lives when we would simply just like to start again….take everything back and start again……a do-over. I have been thinking about do-overs now that Democratic Chairman Howard Dean has urged Florida and Michigan party officials to come up with plans to repeat their presidential nominating contests so that their delegates can be counted – so they can have a do-over.

You see, party officials in Michigan and Florida made decisions over 18 months ago that they would hold their primaries in January, in contravention of the party rules. The Democratic National Committee stripped both states of all delegates for holding the primaries too early, and all Democratic candidates - including Clinton and rival Barack Obama - agreed not to campaign in either state. Obama's name wasn't even on the Michigan ballot. Florida and Michigan had moved up their dates to protest the party's decision to allow Iowa and New Hampshire to go first, followed by South Carolina and Nevada, giving them a disproportionate influence on the presidential selection process.

So – their delegates (selected at their primaries in January) didn’t count. Now they are showing renewed interest in holding repeat presidential nominating contests so that their votes will count in the epic Democratic campaign. Hillary Clinton won both contests, but the results were meaningless because the elections violated national party rules. But no one predicted the race would still be very close at this point in the year.

Florida and Michigan made their decisions……..now they want a do-over.

I don’t really intend to talk about political things – although many of my personal beliefs can certainly be seen to be political. I know that there are many times when I have made decisions that I subsequently wished I had a do-over. You can get a mulligan in golf, but in life I haven’t found there are too many opportunities for do-overs.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The nice thing about a bad day is that it eventually ends and then you can start again tomorrow, so hang in there....

Anonymous said...

....but it could be groundhog day!

Anonymous said...

Bloggers son here,

tomorrow evening the NBA will stage a do-over based on an incorrect call in the last minute of a game played over two months ago. Here's a link to a slate article decrying this "do-over" as folly.

http://www.slate.com/id/2185852/nav/tap3/

maybe you don't often get a mulligan in life but they do exist, in the case of Florida + Michigan, I say why not? The dems can't annoint the first black or female major party candidate in US history while party members from Florida + Michigan stage a civil rights protest outside the convention. No sir.