The Mid-term elections are over and it seems Americans have given their heads a collective shake and decided to toss out enough Republicans and elect enough Democrats to shift the balance of power in Washington. The last two years of a 2 term presidency are often a challenging time for an administration, your enemies see you as a weak lame-duck and your friends are all trying to ensure they get your job when you are kicked out. This is made worse in Dubya's case by the ongoing shitshow in Iraq and the fact that the current vice-president is not considering running for president. If the Democrat's decide to start hammering the administration with investigations and enquires about the war, things are going to get rough, how rough depends on the reaction of the Whitehouse. Dubya's natural instinct when trapped into a corner is to retreat to his
base and this might overcome any desire to build a legacy that not does not involve pre-emptive war. Cheney seems to have become uber-bitter and will either finish out his term padding a nest egg for himself or attempting to get Dubya to bring out the VETO stamp on any legislation likely to help the Democrats.
The real question will be how will the Democrats win back the Whitehouse in 2 years? Will they attempt a centrist course that lures independents and moderate Republicans over to the Democratic side? Or will they try to appeal to their base; unions, women, minorities and urban voters? The safe bet seems to be to stay moderate, at least until a front runner emerges from the Republican party. If a moderate like McCain is nominated then expect the Dems to veer to the left, if a more conservative candidate receives the nomination then the center is wide open for democrats. All in all it should be interesting.
On a personal note we are still waiting for our house to be completed, apparently infills are like Rome, not built in a day.
Played some 5-10 at Deerfoot Casino last night, bought in for 100, cashed out 300. Not a bad night. The table was evenly split between knowledgeable, competent players and those who did not understand the betting structure, let alone low-limit strategy. The dealer showed great patience when hand after hand players were betting 10 when they can only bet 5 and vice versa. My biggest regret of the night was tangling with the more experienced players with questionable hands. I would have made about 200 bucks more if I had stayed clear of them and focused on the ample supply of fish. I will definitely be back to Deerfoot in the near future.
I recently bought
Winning Low Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones, it was a great read. All my poker books have been based on No Limit tournaments, a very different game.
