Murnane: No visions of sugar plums for Election Day 2016

There was a time when Election Day - especially a Presidential Election Day - was as anxiously awaited as Christmas, or the last day of school, or even a birthday.

That's not so in 2016.

Yes, there is anxiety, but not that warm and fuzzy kind. It's anxiety to get the damn thing over with and hope we survive for another four years.

Many Americans - perhaps most - are looking at Election Day the way they look at Tax Day, April 15.

It's a day on the calendar, it's going to be here, and then it will be over and where will I be financially?

The pending question next month - NEXT MONTH - is where will we be as a nation on Inauguration Day in January, only 73 days later?

And, of course, it doesn't end on Inauguration Day. The D.C. workmen will put the parade grandstands away, the hotel ballrooms will lose their "inauguration aura" and thousands of visitors will go home.

But then what happens?

What happens when either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump walks down the stairs from the family quarters at The White House to the Oval Office to begin work as the President of the United States on January 21? (It will be a Saturday, but not likely a day off for anyone connected to the White House or the new administration.)

Will one of them be ready? Will we be ready? Will our nation be ready?

I've had a chance to play active roles in five presidential elections; in four of them, they were considered major roles and in three of those four, I was on the winning side.

But in none of those four, or five - or others in which I had lesser involvement - did I think the choices were so poor or so weak that our nation would suffer regardless of who the winner was. I am not alone in 2016 in thinking American voters are left with two less-than-desirable choices.

But that's not all. One of these two is going to be elected. While Hillary Clinton seems to have united support of Democratic congressional leaders, and may be in a better position to hit the ground running, a President Donald Trump would have to spend some time mending fences and healing wounds within his own party. Can that be done? New wounds continue to appear as Election Day nears.

And would Trump be prepared to do that? Trump has not seemed willing to heed the advice of Republican leaders through most of this election season and if he wins, why should he care? Would he need a unified Republican Party to enact his program?

Will Republican leaders in Congress join hands with him to break ground on construction of the giant wall that will keep Mexicans from entering the United States illegally? Or would President Trump acknowledge that getting involved in the construction aspect of "the wall" would be demeaning to congressional leaders - and instead their job would be to collect the money from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who Trump says is going to pay for it?

Yet, there could be another Clinton Administration. Would this cause the White House press corps to double in size - adding new reporters for the sole purpose of following, and reporting on, Bill Clinton's activities?

Yes, there is anxiety, maybe more so than any recent presidential election.

Fortunately for those of us in Illinois, we don't have to worry about it. There is nothing we can do about this election, at least in the race for president.

Hillary Clinton may not prevail in Park Ridge, where she grew up, but she will carry Illinois with, or without, our votes.

Donald Trump will lose Illinois with, or without, our votes. The most interesting post-election analysis will be the tally of Trump votes in traditional Republican areas, such as suburban Chicagoland and the collar counties. Chances are good that Hillary Clinton will do substantially better than previous Democratic candidates, at least in Chicago's suburban communities, and maybe even better than previous Republican candidates.

It will be interesting to see the results from Park Ridge, in Maine Township, where she grew up. The combination of Hillary's Illinois roots, the Democratic machine and Trump's erratic behavior will be enough for her to carry Illinois.

It's anybody's guess as to how voters will feel about it in October of 2017.

edmurnane@gmail.com