Turnout and Anger

Stephen Green observes: "Elections are all about turnout, kids. You've got to energize your base, not alienate it." Apropos of which, the Economist ($) explains: "If the election is won by mobilising your base, you do not need to concern yourself with the other side, except to limit its turnout. The priority is to make your supporters more enthusiastic and more angry than your opponents...." Which got me to thinking: Am I angry? Not really. Annoyed would be more like it. In 2000, I was really angry. I wanted my country back from the pointy-heads who thought their Ivy League degrees and trust funds meant they were entitled to tell me how to run my life. Back from people who didn't know what "is" meant. Back from the people who thought that a tax cut meant giving me the government's money. Back from a bunch of skirt-chasing, draft-dodging, non-inhaling (yeah, right) idiots who were stuck in some Summer of Love flashback to their glory days in the 60s when they were so radical and who now deserved to be the Masters of the Universe because they were still so cool. ... Hey, wait a minute .... Maybe I am still angry. ... Whew. Thanks for listening. I feel much better now.