NICE THING ABOUT BEING A PESSIMIST is that you can only be pleasantly surprised. In case you’re wondering about the noncommital tone of my immediately pre-bed post last night (“I hope more harm than good comes of this”), here’s my deal: Oh, how I am looking forward to getting some sound judges confirmed. Much of this NR editorial’s plan for action sounds good to me. On the other hand, my ever-shifting Iraq weathervane is swinging way, way over to “invasion is a bad idea,” and so I’m ambivalent about the GOP’s startling wins. So yeah, hope and pray is my plan for the duration. So much of what needs to happen in this country won’t and can’t be done by government, anyway; even if much domestic-policy goodness comes out of this election, we’ll still have to tote that weary bail for the rest of our lives–shaping the rhetorical climate, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable, aiding those in need, and, always, seeking teshuvah, repentance and return to God. Not to rain on anyone’s parade–especially not Shamed’s, since he’s worked so hard and helped pull off some important victories–just explaining why I feel less emotionally caught up than I did on (what we all thought was) election night 2000. Things seemed simpler then. Stupid, but true.