Republican smack-down

I'm slightly kidding when I say that last Wednesday, I felt like there was just a bit less evil in the world. I know that's not true, but it did warm my heart to see voters give Rick Santorum and George Allen their respective pink slips. Karl Rove may have overplayed the anti-gay/anti-pro choice card in this election as people seemed to care more about Iraq and the economy and less about what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms.

Still, even if Allen kept his seat, there were still some moderates in the Republican party that would have me not sweating the fact that there was a Republican majority in the Senate (see John McCain, Chuck Hagel and Arlen Spector).

The end of this week, I was saddened to hear about the death of Ed Bradley. Once again, I know this is a bit naive, but Ed Bradley, like Peter Jennings, represented the old guard of journalists - and that is a compliment. I just watched 60 Minutes' profile on Ed Bradley and one word kept creeping into my head: "character." He hung with the likes of Hunter S. Thompson, he went on stage and performed in clubs, he was just 'cool.' The antithesis of Matt Lauer and Katie Couric - who seem to have emerged from a factory designed by network execs.

Still, I can look at Keith Olbermann and even Brian Williams and feel some sense of hope for network news. That said, there won't be another reporter quite like Ed Bradley.