For some parts of the country, tomorrow will be a day of joy and relief, and for others, it will be a day of anger and despair.  Both of those extremist groups will be flailing around a lot on television, radio, and the Internet in the days and weeks ahead while media producers scramble to further dramatize what is supposed to be the (latest) defining news event of our time.

But I suspect the vast majority of people fall into different groups.  For a lot of people, the results of today's election won't really matter that much.  After a brief pause to hear the news over breakfast, most people will continue their daily routine without much concern for their new commander-in-chief.  (A surprising number of people -- despite unprecedented voter registrations and what will surely be an unprecedented voter turnout -- probably won't even realize it's an election day, and won't have any idea who won or lost.)

We're expected to believe this is the most important election of our time, but for most of us, I suspect that the next four years will proceed very much like the last four.  Most of us control our own lives and our own destiny -- not the president.  Which suggests that whatever problems exist in this country rest soley on the shoulders of the electorate, not within the White House.

P.S.  I feel compelled to mention that some outcasts will see the election results as another frustrating reminder that ballot access laws in this country remain hopelessly oppressive.