An addiction to politics isn't easily cured

Tuesday marked the first national election I had not been a part of covering since 1976. For 32 years, my election night consisted of going down to the local elections board to await the returns, then heading home to see how the state and national returns looked. I put aside the urge the go downtown Tuesday and only called a reporter I knew would be there once. Wilson County returns were ridiculously late, with first returns coming after 11 p.m., about four hours after polls closed. I can remember when hand-counted ballots came in faster than that.

Politics is addictive, as you can see if you hang out at the elections board on any election night. A half dozen or more addicts will be there, getting their fix of the excitement and stress as the returns dribble in. Sometimes, a reporter or editorial writer can pick up a few tidbits of insider information from the candidates and campaign workers who hang out. Hours of waiting lead to conversations on a variety of subjects, not all of them related to the current election. I missed out on those conversations and good-natured ribbing this year, but I knew from experience that the returns would be late, and I allowed myself the luxury of closely following the national returns on television and the Internet.

I might not have been part of reporting this year's election, but I was part of the process. I voted. I followed the campaigns. I even wrote about them in this forum. My political addiction won't go away easily.