Election Time During Covid

 November 2

On this day before the most critical election of our lifetime we can't allow ourselves to feel optimistic. Even if the polls are right and things go well for a Biden victory at the outset we are terrified of consequences. Cities all over the nation are preparing for unrest. Stores are boarding up with plywood. Both sides are volatile and fiercely desire victory. This is what it must feel like in chronically corrupt developing countries. The majority of Americans long to wake up from our four year nightmare. Now election day may mark the beginning of a new nightmare. Maybe it will all go well. Biden will win by a landslide and Trump will give his concession speech and we can then breathe and pop open the champagne.

November 3

Election day. We're all on edge, waiting for the results. Media warning us it may be days or weeks before we know the result. I think I can handle that. Much prefer every state carefully counting the ballots to a rushed affair and chaotic consequences. So far it appears there's calm around the nation. No reports of unrest yet.

It's a sunny day, mild temps, with signs of fall everywhere.

At 4:00 I'll meet up with my book group to discuss Alta California, a travel narrative of our state with historical context layered into the current account.

November 4

In 2016 Huffpost headlined with "Mourning in America" the day after the most disastrous presidential elections in US history. We've been in mourning ever since, willing time to speed up, desperate to live in a Trump-less future. Four years later, instead of a sweeping landslide to fire the most disastrous president, the race turned out to be scarily close. It speaks volumes about this nation.

Today we're still on pins and needles. When the results started coming in last night we were alarmed at the red electoral band across the country. All solidly Republican states remained loyal to Trump. After an awful night's sleep, tossing and turning, a sickness sloshing in my tummy, we awoke to hopeful news. Mara Liasson, national political correspondent on NPR, stated there's a clear path to victory for Biden. From the current state of things I'm worried that it could go either way though the NYT and CNN are predicting a Biden win. At the moment Trump is ahead in Pennsylvania, but as absentee ballots are counted Biden is closing the gap. It could take days for PA to finish up its count. If Biden wins this state it's one path to victory. Another path would be clinching AZ, MI and WI. Trouble is WI is showing a tight margin and Trump is already making noises for a recount.

We could be in this limbo state for days.

November 5

Starting the day with a headline like this helps cope with the tension that hovers over us. The whole world is holding its breath. Five significant, battleground states are still counting ballots and the difference in every case is razor thin. Arizona has been called for Biden by some news outlets, but ballots there are still being counted. Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina are hard at work. Every news outlet projects a certainty of a Biden win. Doesn't help my anxious state of mind though. If Pennsylvania finishes its count today and Biden wins it, we'll crack open the champagne.

Yesterday's NYT columnists, in their post mortems of the tight race, shared my disbelief. This election was no repudiation of four disastrous years. How do you explain why half this nation can't be bothered by what we endured? In the middle of a historic pandemic that is outrageously mishandled! Who are these people? They care about their own wallets, their guns and their desire to rob women of their freedom to choose abortion. Nothing else matters to these idiots. The scary realization is that had it not been for the pandemic, the economy would likely have held steady and Trump would have been re-elected. It's beyond shocking.

Another topic dissected everywhere was the polls. Why were they so far off reality? They suggested a landslide and wider margins in battleground states. Didn't happen. Even congressional races didn't go especially well for democrats. The Senate is always elusive - more red states than blue ensures that - but when a Democrat is favored in a presidential race, the democrats are able to wrangle a slim majority. Not this year. We are saddled with Mitch McConnell again! Worse, Biden's agenda will be crippled and in the midterms his inability to deliver will be used against him. The electorate isn't astute enough to see through this deception. Republicans will dominate Congress and so the pattern will repeat.

Meanwhile the USA recorded 108,000 new Covid infections yesterday. The experts are warning us that the pandemic is about to enter its darkest phase. Dr. Fauci's pleas for safety measures to bring the numbers down before winter fell on deaf ears. People everywhere in the world have reached saturation point. They resist the advice of experts, but if the central government supports the experts it's a huge help. Governors struggle on and in our state Governor Newsom's strict measures have made him unpopular. Our state is doing better than most of the country. This week the trend line is creeping up again.

A Biden win will help us get through the remainder of the pandemic. Sanity at the federal level will keep our dopamine levels up.

November 6

Still holding my breath. Progress on ballot counting in the last 5 battleground states going at glacial speed. More good news to start the day. Biden is now ahead in Pennsylvania and Georgia. Nevada appears solid. Arizona tenuous - gap narrowing. So hard to focus on anything else. Though every media outlet conveys a Biden victory the race is too tight for comfort. The best outcome right now would be a decisive win in Pennsylvania and if that happens before the day is over we'll be celebrating.

Trump sank to new lows at a White House press conference, disgorging wild claims of voter fraud and generally condemning the country's election integrity. TV networks, appalled at this attack on our democracy, walked away in the middle of the rant. Trump is pursuing several lawsuits, making demands to stop counting votes, and claiming fraudulent activity at polling places.

The Covid situation would've been the main news. The USA recorded over 118,00 new cases yesterday, and about 1300 deaths. France recorded over 50,000 new infections. In California and in our county new case numbers went up yesterday. There's frustration in the state that theme parks are closed as well as entertainment venues. Counties aren't progressing sufficiently to move to tiers allowing fewer restrictions. People don't want to follow safety guidelines.

November 7

We heard the ecstatic result at 9:30 this morning when we returned from our morning beach walk. Though media outlets conveyed confidence of a Biden victory in the past days it was a tremendous relief when Pennsylvania came through for him. Phew! Our four year nightmare coming to an end. Undoing the damage is going to be a monstrous task but for now we are savoring the moment. A historic moment with the first woman, black and South Asian, as our Vice President. There has been some unrest in a few cities during the week, but not at the level we feared. Today celebrations erupted in cities all over the country. So heartening to see this catharsis. Of course we still have to endure two more months of an unhinged Trump.

Covid news keeps getting worse. In addition to frightening surges, a new, mutated strain has appeared and it may not respond to the vaccines we're waiting on. This new strain migrated from mink farms in Denmark. Millions of minks will be culled. With few travel restrictions out of Denmark this new strain with an altered spike protein has been detected in a few other countries. Not good news at all!