Let the 20/20 hindsight begin
Inter Lake editorial
What a difference a day makes.
On Tuesday, we could all march into the voting booths with a degree of certitude that we knew what was best for the county and the country. But by Wednesday, lots of us were scratching our heads, trying to figure out what it all meant.
Take the race for county commissioner, for instance. Everyone knew that incumbent Republican Commissioner Gary Hall had his hands full trying to hold off ex-sheriff Jim Dupont. But very few of us predicted that Hall would suffer the 69-31 percent shellacking he got. Most people seem to agree that Hall is an honorable public servant, who could have beaten most other opponents, but Dupont is not just any opponent.
Interestingly, Democratic candidate Steve Qunell got 7,708 votes, not too far off the pace set by Dupont with 8,065. When you consider that the 3,585 votes that went to Hall will be up for grabs in the fall, this could be a very competitive race.
The biggest shockers of the night were in two statewide races. On the Democratic side, former Montana House Speaker John Driscoll - who chose not to campaign - easily defeated Helena lawyer Jim Hunt - who did campaign, but maybe should not have.
Much more entertaining was the victory of 85-year-old Bob Kelleher, who has been an also-ran so many times in the past that Republicans decided to reward him with a trip around the state for the next five months. Apparently, in the post-partisan environment made popular by Barack Obama, Kelleher was nominated because of his varied background as a Democratic and Green Party candidate, as well as for his revolutionary views on converting the U.S. government to the parliamentary system. It's just hard to figure where the Republicans fit into his coalition.
As for Obama, you have to hand it to him. He ended his election battle just the way he began it - with an unexpected victory. His win in Iowa in January was what began the slow ascent that ended Tuesday with his victory in Montana, the last state to vote, and one that probably looked like Clinton Country not too many months ago.
Much will be written about the historic nature of the 2008 election, and those of us who participated can take pride in it, regardless of the outcome. Certainly we should be able to put aside the notion that America is a racist country when a black man can not only win the Democratic nomination, but also win handy victories in predominantly white states such as Montana and Idaho.
And no one should underestimate the accomplishment of Hillary Clinton either, as she became the first woman to come so close to the nomination, less than 100 years since women won the right to vote.
Now everyone can enjoy a brief repose, and then it's back into the trenches for the fall campaign. It promises to be just as exciting as the spring session that is now concluded.