Plenty of people are saying that the 2008 race starts today. I like that kind of enthusiasm. And it's easy to be enthusiatic after the stunning results we acheived yesterday. I'm not here to kill the enthusiasm.
Rather, I'm recommending people clear their heads and take a little time for some important things. More after the jump...
I remember an email from a friend, a precinct committeeman, after the '04 debacle. It was sent out to everyone on the precinct's mailing list. We had to take our solace in a couple of ballot propositions that went the way we wanted, because almost all of our candidates got their clocks cleaned. The advice that was given was good then. And it's probably an even more important reminder now. This is what he said:
"We worked hard. We kept going non-stop. We went door-to-door, we worked the phones hard, we did everything we could to get out the vote. To use an old sports cliche, we left it all on the field. And there's a lot of work ahead to be done for 2006.
"But for now, relax for a bit. Reconnect with your families. Take that extra time to do a few things for yourself. Go see a movie. Take a trip. Hang out with your friends and talk sports, or movies, or whatever. The holidays are coming up; enjoy them. You've earned this. If anything important happens, you'll know what to do. But the campaign work will be there later. Take some time for yourself so that you'll be ready to go when it's time."
It was wise advice. I had done a lot of work for candidates, only to be left to deal with the ache of the defeat. And I was angry that my state and country had voted to continue letting the warmongers wreak their havoc. So I did what he said, and just let the politics go for a bit. And it made a huge difference. I didn't come back angry - I came back determined. As did a lot of people. By the way, the district in which he's a precinct committeman, which has a massive Republican registration advantage, just elected a Democrat to the state house, and in the state senate, a Democrat is leading with the provisional ballots to be counted. That is a monumental accomplishment!
So after well over a year of working on this election, I'm ready to take a break. (Not for long, though; we have city and county elections next year! And the work for that wll start shortly!) I'll still check Kos daily and keep tabs on things, but I'm going to relax and go hang out with family and friends. I hope you'll all do the same, at least for a bit. You've earned it, and you'll need it to get ready for '08.