Bob Dold our New Congressman, and Mark Kirk, our New Senator

Whew! We had pretty good results on Tuesday!  Yester- day, I was tired and had a miserable sinus headache all day. On Monday, I started getting really, really greedy about the chances for Republican victory, so  there were barely enough election wins to keep me happy. I was disappointed that Hamilton Chang didn't win, and surprised by Pat Quinn's numbers. I regretted that I never made it to Kirk's party in Wheeling, where the rest of the family had gone.  I was a little jealous to hear about  the flag ceremony followed by the pledge led by Winnetka veteran Carrie Hoza, dancing to the band, and all sorts of patriotic goings on that once motivated a friend to characterize election night as Christmas and the 4th of July all rolled into one. I also was surprised. I mean, the last time I ran into Mark Kirk chatting socially with a friend, they were having a serious discussion about Civil Society in Africa. Wouldn't you have serious doubts about heading  for a party hosted by this kind of guy?

I did go to the Dold party, which was big and happy, completely filling up the old Fell's store in Winnetka. I ran into a lot of people I knew, including many who I hadn't seen in years, but with so many people it got really hot, and the TV people had bright and hot lights. Because I was so excited the night before, I hadn't had much sleep and I was really, really tired.

Since I realized at 3:00 pm on Monday that unless I had calculated something very wrong, Bob Dold had the election in the bag,  I was expecting for him to declare an early win.  Then I figured I would head off to Wheeling to visit with the people there, putting in the maximum amount of face time that might make up for a few years of avoiding political events.

While Bob Dold's party was a good, it also was nervous.  The evening wore on and the networks remained mum about the race. It was past bedtime by the time Bob joined the party to greet his supporters and make his victory speech, and by then I was practically falling asleep.

I am grateful that Bob Dold and Mark Kirk won, and grateful that Republicans did well across the country. I hope you, too, are feeling happy about the election results. The greatly loved Gilbert Bowen, Pastor Emeritus of Kenilworth Union Church, was one of many who added a personal endorsement for Bob, and in his words, "As Bob's pastor and friend for over thirty years, I can enthusiastically endorse his candidacy for the United States Congress. Bob is a man of maturity and experience, character and purpose. He cares about family and community as well as his country. He communicates conservative principles with an awareness of current challenges. He does this with a clarity and enthusiasm which is contagious. In short, Bob is the kind of Republican with hope and future for our party. A friend I am proud to know and work for."