3 DEC 08: THE JOY OF SAXBY

C'mon, admit it - how many of you let out a big sigh of relief Tuesday night? Months filled with political ads finally are over. You'll now get a break for a long while - well, unless Mark LaJoye sends more e-mails like his last one with that 2012 tag line.

The U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia ended with incumbent Saxby Chambliss securing a second term. At our deadline Tuesday night, he led Jim Martin with 58 percent of the vote - so that big "2" on the Martin yard signs turned out to be prophetic.

The runoff vote in Columbus had a few problems. I heard one man complain about going to Edgewood School to vote, only to learn the election packet for Edgewood Baptist Church had been delivered instead. See what happens when they start teaching "Bible as Literature" classes in our schools?

Nancy Boren with the Muscogee County Election Board admitted to WLTZ a few precincts lacked the required "flash cards" for voting Tuesday morning. At grade schools, this shouldn't have been a problem - unless math instruction has changed more than I realized.

Unofficial numbers from the Secretary of State show Muscogee County went strongly for Jim Martin, as it did in November. Harris and Troup Counties went strongly for Saxby Chambliss. So if Carver and LaGrange meet in the state AAA high school football finals, more could be at stake than you might think....

Saxby Chambliss and the Republicans put the runoff election in stark terms. They warned a vote for Jim Martin would allow President-elect Obama to pursue a "radical agenda" for the U.S. So which cabinet position do you think will go to William Ayers - Transportation or Veterans Affairs?

One Republican attack ad warned Barack Obama was "one vote away" from a filibuster-proof 60-vote Senate majority. But this ad overlooked the fact that Minnesota's Senate was also unsettled, and Republicans could win it as well. Truly education was an overlooked issue in this race....

Democratic commercials accused Sen. Saxby Chambliss of being a friend of wealthy Georgians, while telling the middle class to "sink or swim." That was tough language, but it could have been worse. The Democrats could have accused Chambliss of encouraging all low-income Georgians to move to Alabama.

Atlanta political analyst Matt Towery told a TV station the Senate runoff campaigns ranked among the worst-run he's ever seen. He explained both sides spent huge amounts of money on attack ads, when all they really had to do was encourage supporters to vote one more time. But Towery doesn't realize something - all the spending on commercials prevented a deeper recession.

You have to give both Senate candidates some credit, for not taking the runoff for granted. The last four weeks have brought famous names to the Georgia campaign, from Bill Clinton and Al Gore to Mike Huckabee and Sarah Palin. No doubt the Republicans wanted Democrats to go farther, and bring in a socialist like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Jim Martin even held a Runoff Eve rally in Atlanta featuring top Georgia rap stars, such as Ludacris and T.I. Well, Martin never declared himself the candidate who was tough on crime....

For all the months Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin went at each other, it's hard to believe they were once house-mates at a University of Georgia fraternity. You'd think they would have learned how to conform. You know -- the same Greek shirts, the same music at weekend parties, even drinking from the same keg of smuggled beer.

Might Saxby Chambliss's big runoff win open a larger door for him? Does this Republican's success in a big Democratic year mean he could be a Presidential contender in 2012? I think it's possible. And if we can have a President named Barack, why not one named Saxby?

A few other things made news to us on Runoff Tuesday:

+ Columbus emergency crews responded to at least two calls of burst pipes at apartment complexes, apparently due to the cold weather. This is the time of year when it actually is good to be a "drip."

+ State Senator Seth Harp called for "historically black" state colleges to merge, to save the state money. Harp suggested this also would help end segregation in Georgia. After all, white folks were forced to integrate grades K-through-12 against their will....

(The only real girlfriend I've ever had is an Albany State University graduate -- and she's white. She went to Albany State because it was the state university closest to her home. And no, she never did date me wearing all kinds of "bling" or ordering collards for dinner.)

+ The Phenix City Council voted to settle two longstanding lawsuits. One settlement will pay $70,000 to new Councilor Max Wilkes, who sued when he was fired from a city job. This is the closest thing I've ever seen to a politician receiving a "signing bonus."

+ The Americus Times-Recorder reported Snider Chevrolet is in "receivership," and WRBL found the dealership shut down. If this trend keeps up, the Chevrolet "American Revolution" will end in a victory march by the top executives of Hyundai.

+ The Chambers County Commission voted to dissolve the small town of Fredonia, and a probate judge upheld the vote. In related news, Robert Schweiger could be away from Hurtsboro for the rest of the week on a "fact-finding" mission....

+ Instant Message to WIOL "Mix 95.7" FM: Why? Why should I listen to your non-stop Christmas music, as opposed to Sunny 100's non-stop Christmas music? I mean, is it superior? Do your songs mention Santa Claus 50 percent more often?

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