The end is near
Election day has finally arrived, and if you are anything like me, you are on proverbial pins and needles. Yes, all the polls show that Joe Biden will handily win the presidency, and while we do and should doubt polling, we do not doubt “president” Donald Trump will do anything in his power to hold onto his personal cash cow. Trump’s presidency has never been about us, and regardless of the lies he continues to spew, he will do nothing for us in a second term. His focus will continue to be himself and using taxpayer dollars to prop up his failing businesses.
While outlets have posted their predictions, predictions are not always accurate. They do, however, provide an outlet while we wait. For me, it beats the hell out of sitting and wringing my hands. My bedtime will have long passed by the time we begin to see positive news, and the last thing I plan to do when I go to bed is pray we wake up to new leadership. Even though Politico’s final election forecast tells us we are “left with a presidential contest that’s been remarkably stable,” we put nothing past Trump. Trump’s corruption aside, my most ardent prayer is that I will sleep a whole lot better the next four years than I did the last. With that said, please allow me to venture into the final forecasts by Politico and Washington Post.
Steven Shepard of Politico wrote that despite the closeness in the battleground states, Joe Biden is favored to win. While Democrats are slightly favored to take the Senate, Shepard believes the Republicans will retain control, though the Democrats will add to their majority in Congress. Shepard bases his findings on a “year-long reporting project” which included talking with strategists, pollsters, and operatives, as well as examining public and private polling, voting trends, and campaign finance. He further points to states like Texas, where early voting has already exceeded that of the entire 2016 election.
Washington Post’s predictions are led by Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and WaPo columnist. Olsen describes several scenarios under which Trump might prevail, but they are not realistic. Unlike Shepard, Olsen predicts a one-party Washington, which has not happened since Reagan won in 1980. His prediction considers that both of Georgia’s Senate races will result in January runoffs. One of Olsen’s biggest selling points is Trump’s approval rating, which currently stands at 45%. Trump had a shot in September to reach the ever elusive 50% when he stood at 47.7%, but those hopes were quickly dashed by his mishandling of COVID.
Either way we look at it, the end is near be that end new leadership or the destruction of everything we know. I am betting on the former. I am betting that there are more decent people in this country than the cowards who impart hate and destruction. I am betting on God. As Joe Biden said in Michigan Sunday, quoting the words of the hymn “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired,” God has not brought us this far to leave us.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years