Experts Expound

"Politically speaking, what do you have to be thankful for (if anything)?"

No major elections in 2009.

I'm grateful for the Internet. Especially since the demise of California Journal, it has been hard to follow state politics through dead-tree publications alone. Capitol Weekly and other online sources make it possible to stay up to date even if one is far from Sacramento.

The Legislature's 2/3 vote requirement for budgets and tax hikes.

That Senator Perata keeps us all entertained by staying in that office until 5 minutes before swearing in …. or five minutes after. It just makes us all want to see him leave that much more.

As both a Republican and someone who marched for equality during the 60s and 70s, I am thankful that we have elected a person of color. I wish he was of another party and had different policies. It was a bittersweet loss.

I'm thankful that we have awoken from the Republican nightmare and that we're going to put our country back together again.

My students. My family. My health. I still have a good job and can pay bills and buy turkeys for the food bank, too. I am going to the inauguration and Obama seems sane, articulate and engaged. I won't need to draw on my 401 for at least two years.

I am thankful for the election of Barack Obama. Moral leadership, inspiration, intellectual curiosity, greater international cooperation with our allies, and a laser-like focus on getting the economy back on track, working with a Democratic Congress that will have no excuses if it doesn't accomplish significant change.

And I am also thankful Hannah Beth Jackson doesn't appear to have been elected. Six years of her was plenty! Is that plain speaking from a Democrat, or what?

Andrew Acosta, A.G. Block, Elizabeth Ashford, Mark Bogetich, Barry Brokaw, Morgan Crinklaw, J Dale Debber, Peter DeMarco, Jim Evans, Kathy Fairbanks, Jeff Fuller, Rex Frazier, Ken Gibson, Evan Goldberg, Deborah Gonzalez, Sandy Harrison, Bob Hertzberg, Jason Kinney, Mike Madrid, Nicole Mahrt, Steve Maviglio, Adam Mendelsohn, Barbara O'Connor, Bill Packer, Kassy Perry, Jack Pitney, Adam Probolsky, Tony Quinn, Matt Rexroad, Matt Ross, Roger Salazar, Dan Schnur, Will Shuck, Ralph Simoni, Sam Sorich, Ray Sotero, Garry South, Kevin Spillane, Rich Zeiger.