WHEN astronaut John Glenn gazed down from space this week and spotted Hawaii, did he see the three distinct stages that residents were going through? For me, first came the manic stage, then the depressive stage and, finally, situation back-to-normal. Recovering from
spaciness of electionsThe manic stage was the culmination of a year-long barrage of political speeches, debates, coffee hours and stew-and-rice rallies. Sign-wavers lined the streets and caused near-mishaps in traffic.
Television watchers faced a painful onslaught of incessant, jabbering campaign commercials crammed into the intervals between programs. Reading the newspaper meant wading through full-page ads that were often full of shibai.
Miracles occurred! A state government that had been hundreds of millions of dollars in the red was suddenly in the black.
Wherever the incumbent went, he tossed around promises of funding or support for those in the audience. Meanwhile, the challenger refused to commit herself to similar promises or details until she could examine the books. A sound or silly strategy?
The official onset of the depressive stage began first thing Tuesday morning, General Election Day. Apprehension and uncertainty set in. Which way was the electorate leaning? Who would actually turn out to vote? Whose message had gotten through to the masses?
Dinner time arrived but the appetite was poor. Maybe the first printout would alleviate some stress. However, the first results on the governor's race were close. Way too close. It didn't look like a clear-cut winner would emerge until late into the night.
The gubernatorial candidates appeared at their campaign headquarters to pay homage to the faithful. The incumbent looked genuinely surprised and grateful at his strong numbers. The challenger was her usual poised, stoic self, but it was the Cayetano camp that sensed victory.
Unable to keep eyelids open, folks at home nodded off. It was hard to sleep soundly, though, not knowing who would lead us through the year 2002.
Wednesday dawned, the morning after, and a full-blown funk set in. The favorite candidate of 198,951 citizens had lost by a mere 5,253 votes. Percentagewise, it was the closest election for governor in the history of the state.
To many people, it felt like a massive hangover. Hopelessness and helplessness prevailed. The haunting chant of "four more years" was unnerving.
WHEN John Glenn gazed down from space and spotted Hawaii yesterday, did he notice the people of these islands had moved out of their depression?
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Perhaps the incumbent wasn't slinging the you-know-what on election night, when he said his challenger's strong showing was a mandate from the people for meaningful change.
Oops, spoke too soon. On Wednesday, our newly re-elected leader challenged the small business community to decide "if they want to be part of the problem or the solution. Let's work together." This from a man who basically has ignored the needs of small-business people and who appointed only a couple of them to his almighty Economic Revitalization Task Force.
Even from way off in space, any astronaut could see that things were still status quo in the paradise of the Democrats.
Hawaii, we have a problem.
Diane Yukihiro Chang's column runs Monday and Friday.
She can be reached by phone at 525-8607, via e-mail at
DianeChang@aol.com, or by fax at 523-7863.