Things are already looking up in 2021.
No, this is not about the coronavirus vaccine. Although if you've got an inside source in Hamilton County, give your favorite A2 columnist a call, OK? And then if David Cook doesn't answer, shoot me an email.
And no, it's not because some bobbleheaded goof decided that "Amen" was too gender-specific and ended a prayer before Congress with "Amen, and a woman."
Never mind that Amen is genderless and means "so be it" in Hebrew. And almost assuredly in Shebrew, too.
Of course, that's also not counting Donald Trump's improper and scary phone call over the weekend. Man, secretaries haven't been treated that inappropriately by a president since Clinton moved back to Arkansas.
And hey, I voted for Trump in 2016. So there's that.
Where were we? That's right, welcome to the party, 2021. We need you, and we have high hopes.
Because despite the looming craziness in Washington, the guaranteed confusion about vaccine availability and the undeniable consternation in Knoxville where Jeremy Pruitt is making millions while Gus Malzahn and Tom Herman are jobless, Tuesday is an important first step forward in 2021.
On Tuesday, the Senate runoffs in Georgia end as voters head to their polling sites. And if you believe recent allegations about voter fraud, there could be as many as 12 billion votes cast, give or take.
There is no debating - just ask GOP Sen. David Perdue - that it's a monstrous race in terms of Washington control.
Everyone knows the stakes. If the Democrats sweep, they will gain control - barely - of the Senate at 50-50, with VP Kamala Harris the tiebreaker.
That fact is not lost on outside interests from both sides: almost $500 million has been spent on ads for the four candidates. Yes, half a billion in an effort to catch the ear of Ernie in Emerson or get the attention of Alice in Alpharetta.
Half a billion, that in and of itself is staggering. And a complete testament of what the system has become. In fact, according to NPR, the Democratic challengers have seen the most money in each campaign - Jon Ossoff topping David Perdue $87.6 million to $50 million; Raphael Warnock topping Kelly Loeffler $72.5 million to $40.8 million.
I guess that's the going rate for deal-passing or deal-blocking political power these days.
For me, I'll just be glad when the constant barrage of commercials and the mudslide of mud-slinging goes away. Watching the final weekend of the NFL Sunday left me hoping for a Wettermark Keith spot or an ad featuring those two brothers promoting the Infinity dealership.
Yelling. Accusations. Insults. Beeped-out language. Edited clips from previous speeches. Downright anger and fearmongering. When the commercials are more brutal than watching the Falcons, well, you know it's bad.
And it came from all of them.
In truth, it felt so 2020. All of it. But here comes lucky '21 to the rescue.
So when runoff election day ends, 2021 will have made one of my early cosmic requests come true. After that, there will be no more Georgia Senate commercials.
Hallelujah and Amen. (Sorry, ladies.)
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
Jay Greeson