I’ll be keeping an eye on the returns from the Connecticut Senate primary tonight.  If Lieberman does lose, he will have been defeated by an unbeatable opponent: history.  Ned Lamont seems like a competent, bright guy, but the election isn’t about him.  This is the first election cycle in which discontent with the Iraq War–and by extension, the incumbent administration, has completely permeated the electorate.  It began in 2004, but we needed another two years of incompetency and horrific violence to persuade most voters that it’s the war, stupid.  But Lieberman has been slow to recognize that shift in the mood of most Americans. 

I don’t think Lieberman is a bad guy.  I can even excuse his early support of the war; most of the country was still in a post-9/11 state of daze and confusion that was expertly, albeit cynically, manipulated by this administration.  What I can’t forgive is his unwillingness to recognize that he was wrong; his failure to align his beliefs with the facts before him.  He displays a kind of ideological rigidity that is all too depressingly familiar after six years of living in Bush’s America. 

You’ll have to excuse the look on my face. It’s been a while since I’ve had a tongue in my ear. But I can hardly help it if this dog finds me irresistible. Most living creatures do.

The first hints of my next adventure are beginning to reveal themselves to me.  I’ve never taken an extended road trip to any destination outside the upper Midwest.  A road trip is one of those quintessentially American forms of recreation; an opportunity to experience the resplendent vastness of this country, its eccentric charms and mystifying quirks.  So the plan for next summer is a two-week journey that will take me from Minneapolis to my brother’s new home in the San Francisco Bay Area, with at least one layover in Vegas for two to three days.  I want to see things both majestic (Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone) and vulgar (roadside diners, tourist traps).  Depending on the kind of experience I have, perhaps I can turn it into a travelogue or the basis of a novel. 

Some planning will be required, but it should be a cinch compared to the preparations I made for Europe.  Between now and next year, I’ll probably be asking all of you for ideas on stops I should make, routes I should take, etc.  Don’t hesitate to share your own road tripping experiences with me. 

While Democrats are perceived as being more sympathetic to the concerns of people with disabilities, the occasional Republican elected official manages to earn the respect of their local disability community.  Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont, who was a longtime Republican before becoming an independent, has won accolades from disability advocates for his support of key legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, another Republican, is using his disability rights to court voters with disabilities.  Ehrlich’s efforts to woo the disability community seem to go beyond the typical (sometimes halfhearted and condescending) overtures that most politicians make to various demographic groups during election season; his running mate, Kristen Cox, is blind and is head of the cabinet-level department devoted to disability issues.  He has also provided full funding to Maryland’s Medicaid buy-in program. 

I don’t know enough about Ehrlich to opine about his worthiness for reelection.  I do know that if our own governor suddenly created a cabinet-level position devoted to disability issues, I would start searching for the alien pod containing the body of the real Pawlenty.  Perhaps some Democratic governors will realize that we deserve more than rhetoric. 

Thanks to Howard Renesland for the tip.

My sister, the budding attorney, is looking for a part-time job that will give her the opportunity to acquire some practical legal skills.  Being the good brother that I am, I volunteered to e-mail an inquiry to some of my colleagues and friends in an effort to scare up some leads for her.  No luck so far, but on the off-chance that someone reading this blog needs a legal intern or clerk, drop me a line and I’ll share her resume with you.  I can personally attest that she responds quite well to be being bossed around.