Believe me, I’m not denying that bad news is bad news. But it’s an occupational hazard of politics junkies to forget that things happen and things change. For example, on Saturday, it appears the Iraqi political standoff will finally come to a head and move toward a positive resolution. That’s not going to set off a positive chain of events immediately, but who knows what it will mean in the longer term? We don’t yet know how the immigration issue is going to shake out, except that nobody here yet grasps how the Democratic embrace of the protestors may turn into a very exploitable issue for Republican candidates. But the fate of the GOP isn’t the major issue on my mind when I complain about the gloom. Gloom is a soul-killer. Stop killin’ my soul!