Campaign Withdrawl

Now that it's over, Amy and John are feeling a void.

By Amy Kean and John D. Schwartz

Amy:  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually miss the non-stop drama and excitement of the presidential race. It was great! And I'm feeling sort of sad that it's all over. How can I explain it? It's sort of similar to the feeling I have when "American Idol" ends, although I guess the "results" are a bit more important, huh?

It's funny because while it was happening, I had a real love-hate reaction to the round-the-clock coverage: the endless "analysis," the ever-changing polls, the annoying talking heads, the silly "presidential" music, the flashy red and blue map graphics. But now that it's finished, and the dust has settled, I'm feeling--I don't know--sort of deflated. What are we all going to argue about now? The weather? I'm not saying that I'm unhappy with the results, although I felt both tickets had their own unique strengths. I'm just saying that over the last year or so, I'm afraid that I've become what's the medical term? I know--a political junkie.

And now I'm going through some serious withdrawal because I was consumed by this election, to say the least. It had everything that's guaranteed to make a race interesting: religion, race, gender, age, money, humor--the list goes on and on.  From the very beginning, there were some entertaining characters: Rudy Giuliani, John Edwards, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, and even that guy from "Law & Order," Fred Thompson. I'm going to miss the hilarious SNL skits, the heavy-handed political ads, the back-stabbing by both sides, the stupid gossip about Sarah Palin's personal life and shopping habits, the live debates, the blogs, the pins, the T-shirts. Heck, I'm even going to miss the First Dude.

But life goes on, and I guess I'll just have to wait a few more years for another wild campaign. I just hope it'll be as thrilling to follow as this one was.

Just for fun, here are a few of my personal highlights of this race--both good and bad:

             1) Hillary makes fun of Obama's optimism.

             2) Obama and Hillary have a little fight.

             3) McCain and Obama make fun of each other at a charity dinner--HILARIOUS!

             4) Tina Fey and Amy Poehler spoof

             5) Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee jams with a high school band.



JOHN:  I feel exactly the same way. When it ends, it's such a let down! I was completely addicted to the drama. It was just like watching the end of a great baseball season. There were late surges for Wild Card spots (Fred Thompson and Dennis Kucinich). There was a monumental collapse by a heavily favored New York team (Rudy Giuliani). There was a riveting National League Championship series very hotly contested (Hillary Clinton vs. Barak Obama). And finally, there was an epic battle of a World Series for a full seven games. A devastating injury in game one to John McCain's shortstop (the economy) coupled with Barak Obama's overpowering starting pitching (campaign funding) gave Team Obama the edge in the end.  

Technically still in his rookie season as skipper of this new expansion franchise, Barack Obama made history with this World Series victory. He has become the Cito Gaston of presidents.

But now... poof! No more baseball!

I'm especially going to miss my daily visits to FactCheck.org. As a true political independent, I felt a responsibility to constantly monitor, correct and debunk the often-outrageous claims made by friends and family on both sides of the political spectrum. It was comforting to feel that there was a least one political website I could trust (at least I think I could trust it, but who really knows).