So, Ted Kennedy’s former seat has been won by a Republican. As usual in circumstances like these, every one is trying to wring the simplest possible story out of it. Was it a referendum on President Obama? Or a rejection of the health care bill? Or, perhaps, was it an indication that, normally, Congressional incumbents are nearly impossible to beat, and the loss of one of them can lead to a situation where everything is up for grabs? Heck, I’ve got a ton of family in Massachusetts, and they make John McCain look like Ralph Nader, politics-wise; maybe they actually voted this year. Or, is it all more complicated than that?

I wouldn’t say I’m complacent (Who would?), but I can’t say I’m shocked. As I get older, I find that even so-called revolutionary changes in the political landscape, in the end, turn out to be part of the systematic back-and-forth that always occurs, but is easy to forget. Like, remember how it felt like George W. Bush would be president forever? Now, whenever somebody talks about him, a lot of people just yawn. Because they’re not the sort to dwell on the past, so the abuses of his admini–to the future! Look to the future!