You may have noticed from when I had my “recent listening” widget going, I’m a bit of a Peggy Lee fan. So it really should come as no surprise that I’ve been humming one of her finest today.

I remember when I was a very little girl, our house caught on fire.
I’ll never forget the look on my father’s face as he gathered me up in his arms
and raced through the burning building out to the pavement.
I stood there shivering in my pajamas
and watched the whole world go up in flames.
And when it was all over I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a fire?”

Prior to the election, my mother had said that if Obama wins it must be a sign that God is punishing us. I found this statement ironic, coming as it did from the mouth of a woman who has a picture of Dubya on her refrigerator which reads: “Like him or not, this man is our President whom God has chosen. He needs our prayers.”

I wrote her today and said that the same sentiment applies, it’s just the face that has changed. Much to my surprise, she agreed.

And when I was 12 years old, my father took me to a circus,
the greatest show on earth.
There were clowns and elephants and dancing bears.
And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads.
And so I sat there watching the marvelous spectacle.
I had the feeling that something was missing.
I don’t know what, but when it was over,
I said to myself, “Is that all there is to a circus?”

It’s my habit to listen to the news all day long while I write, mostly because I can easily tune out the droning of the various news stations. Just try doing that with the hags on The View. Today, however, the talking heads weren’t so easy to tune out. Whether it was CNN or FOX, they all spoke about how Obama’s victory signaled a new era, an expurgation of our country’s shameful, slave-owning past.

Not a damn one of them mentioned today how skewed the news coverage had been throughout the campaign. Not a single one pondered whether Obama would have been victorious without their biased coverage.

Nor did any news entity address the question that’s been haunting my mind all day: now that Obama will be president, are we finally done talking about affirmative action and racial quotas? Because if he can make it on the dint of his hard work and scholarships after being abandoned by one parent and all but abandoned by the other to become the first Black president, isn’t that proof that anyone can make it if they work hard enough?

And if he’s not proof of that, then exactly why is the media patting itself on the back and claiming we’ve finally shed our racist past?

Then I fell in love, head over heels in love,
with the most wonderful boy in the world.
We would take long walks by the river
or just sit for hours gazing into each other’s eyes.
We were so very much in love.
Then one day he went away and I thought I’d die, but I didn’t,
and when I didn’t I said to myself, “Is that all there is to love?”

Long before I even paused to read about last night’s election results, Left-leaning pundits were already writing about how it’s Obama’s job now to live up to the promises he made throughout his campaign. When I read the first story along those lines, I couldn’t help chuckle: that’s what we on the Right have been saying throughout the campaign.

The only way to judge whether someone will do what they say they will do is to look at their past actions. With someone who possesses so little experience, what factual basis do you have to believe in their promises of great things to come? Answer: nothing but hope, and that along with a quarter will get you a cup of coffee. Oh, wait. It won’t will it?

You know that old saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?” Well, Congreve didn’t know nuthin’ ’bout Democrats finding out their Anointed One couldn’t move mountains like he’d claimed. Just watch. That “100 Day Honeymoon” most Presidents get will be over faster than most honeymoons really are.

I know what you must be saying to yourselves,
if that’s the way she feels about it why doesn’t she just end it all?
Oh, no, not me. I’m in no hurry for that final disappointment…

Yeah, I know, I know. I sounded so much more gracious earlier today. And, don’t get me wrong: I truly do feel like I just don’t care all that much. We get what we ask for, and apparently the majority of the country asked for a change that had never been clearly defined.

That’s fine. I’ll go along for the ride. I am, if nothing else, good at seeing the forest (while occasionally slamming into the trees), and love nothing more than to see people get EXACTLY what they asked for. Me? I try not to ask others for much. That way I’m seldom disappointed.

For I know just as well as I’m standing here talking to you,
when that final moment comes and I’m breathing
my last breath, I’ll be saying to myself:

Is that all there is? Is that all there is?
If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing.
Let’s break out the booze and have a ball…
If that’s all there is.

Yep, Obama won. And yet, the earth is still revolving on the same axis, the sky is still blue, the sun will rise tomorrow, the French will still be annoying, and I’ll still be chuckling over the same people doing the same stupid things they’ve been doing all of their lives while thinking themselves smart.

In other words, folks, it’s time to drink up.