The American Spectator

Political Hay

(Page 3 of 3)

br> Please get out of the new one br> If you can't lend your hand br> For the times they are a-changin'. /em> /p>

I scanned the younger faces that glowed against the fire. Suddenly it dawned on me. Their sons and daughters are beyond their command.

There's my cousin, nursing a 4.0 GPA at a fancy liberal arts college, fresh from voting to re-elect George W. Bush on his first-ever ballot, much to the disfavor of his mom. There's the bridesmaid, also a cousin. She's been a die-hard Republican since her high school days and is still dedicated to the cause. And there's yet another cousin, fresh from a conservative Bible college located in Tulsa. And, of course, there's me, a paid professional political hack.

What's happening to my family is a microcosm of what's happening to the entire Land of 10,000 Lakes. Yes, yes, George W. Bush lost Minnesota. But it was "in play" up until the very end and the Democrats actually had to spend big money to keep it blue. President Bush ended up with 48%, up from Bob Dole's 36% in 1996. And the county-by-county electoral map from 2004 bears similarities to the national map. True blue counties, which can be counted on one hand, stand out against a sea (or, perhaps a Great Lake) of red.

Meanwhile, Minnesota has a Republican governor and one Republican senator. Democrat Senator Mark Dayton's retirement provides the GOP a chance to pick up the other Senate seat in 2006.

If you listen closely to the wind blowing in from "the big lake they call Gitche Gumee" you can still hear Bob Dylan singing, "the times, they are a-changin'."

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