You might have figured I'd blog once or twice right after the Democrats staged an impressive win Tuesday night. However, I was busy working 35 hours in two days to provide election coverage online to folks in central and eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas.

I even made a TV appearance live Tuesday night on KOCO. That's the first time I've been on-air in the year and a half I've been at the station. However, I'd love to entertain the idea of doing it more often when the Internet plays a key role in stories.

On a personal note, I'm not all that excited about all those Dems winning. Look, it's not like voters decided all of a sudden that they espoused liberalism.

They rejected President Bush, the war in Iraq, congressional scandal and the general inability to get the job done -- whatever that means to the individual. My sense is that Democrats still face the challenge of communicating what it is exactly that they stand for because this is what I call a negative campaign.

Voters selected Dems only because they were the other choice.

Unfortunately, for a progressive such as myself, the big Democratic winners were primarily middle-of-the-road conservative Democrats, which underscores my belief that, really, who won big Tuesday night were moderate Republicans.

I was telling a colleague today that what we have in this country is the Right and the Far Right. Hell, I'm not even far left, and most of my opinions are barely espoused by anybody in federal government.

Nevertheless, I did my duty and voted. I hope you did, too, but as I also noted on Sunday -- no worries if you didn't. A big chunk of me could care less about politics at all, probably the smart half of me.

It's like sports. We're just rooting for the uniforms.

Does a good Democrat really know what newly elected Montana Senator Jon Tester stands for specifically? Or, do you merely know that he's a Dem? Same goes for Republicans.

We're rooting for the laundry.

My buddy J from D.C. had said weeks ago that he was excited about the prospects of Tom Vilsack running for president in 2008. I thought to myself, "From Iowa? You've got to be kidding. The only Iowan we've had as president was Herbert Hoover, and that worked out -- not!"

However, I saw the guy on TV today. He's a big man. Strapping. Looks like a farmer, a country guy. Better looking than the pic on Wikipedia, but not slick like a John Kennedy or Bill Clinton.

There is something about his look, right off the bat, that I think would resonate with middle America and Southerners. He IS Catholic, and there is a giant bias against Catholics much of America, particularly in southern states that don't have a ton of Hispanics. What I'm saying is that his faith could be tough going for him at some point.

My hope, politically, is that this guy is a Tom Harkin-style populist, which is really what I'm about. For the farmer. For the union. For the minority -- every minority. For the use of good government, when doing good for down people. For the elimination of bad government, when merely in the business and pocketbooks of its citizens for no reason. For liberty over safety.

What I'm really saying is that if this guy is as steady as he seems, with the Farmer Dan look he's pulling off, watch out. He'll appeal to rural voters and possibly Southerners ... and, that's all you need to win if the past 10 or so presidential elections is any indication.

However, right now, I don't know Jack about the guy. And, just because he's a Democrat doesn't mean one iota about my preference for the man. My support stands with true progressives who won't sacrifice our beliefs for achieving power.

I'd rather lose and stand firm in what I believe in.

But, now for some notes about winning:
Carrie Underwood won a pair of huge trophies at the CMA Awards on Monday, and I couldn't be happier for her. While I wasn't a big fan of hers during her Idol days, I'll give it up to how she's performed since winning the FOX talent show in 2005.

She's huge, and she's good. Her album "Some Hearts" was tremendous, and "Jesus Take The Wheel" is one of the better country songs of the past two or three years.

Plus, she's from Checotah, which is in my neck of the woods. Good for her.

You know what's scary? She was born on March 10, 1983, in Muskogee. I lived in Muskogee then, and our house was right across 32nd Street from Muskogee's hospital. It's damned likely I was out playing ball when she popped out from her momma, within a bad basketball shot over our fence of being in the hospital parking lot the moment she was born.

Talk about brushes with fame.

Watch my TV clip -- I'm a TV star, too.

And, on the other side of the country, Rutgers beat No. 3 Louisville tonight to claim the Scarlet Knights' biggest win in school history. Mind you, Rutgers invented college football, or at least they started it with a game against Princeton in 1869.

Rutgers under Greg Schiano is 9-0 for the first time since 1976, but ranked in the Top 15 probably for the first time ever -- and they'll come close to cracking the Top 10 next week.

Deservedly so. But, I'll make a bold statement. Should the Scarlet Knights run the table, beating a good West Virginia team, they should get heavy consideration to play in a national title game against either Ohio State or Michigan.

There is no doubt that Schiano is the coach of the year in college football, even as great a job as Bob Stoops has done here in Oklahoma. It just doesn't compare to what Rutgers is pulling off.

What makes me think they are as good as they are is that they can run the football well. In fact, that is their primary offensive strength, which combined with a stout defense is the stuff champions are made of.

Most of the time when a team comes out of nowhere in college football, it's about one star or a gimmick offense. But, no. Rutgers plays smash-mouth football, and their defense is stud.

Not saying they'd beat the Buckeyes or Wolverines, but I know they could. It is absolutely within the realm of possibility, and if we don't have a playoff in college football and there are no other unbeatens, then to deny Rutgers a chance at the title would be a crime.

In the on-the-tip-of-my-mind department:

I have a healthy fascination with The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Over the past couple of years, I've been making it a point to rent seasonal discs to watch each episode one by one. Now that the show's creators agreed to release four of the seasons, I'll have a lot from which to pick.

First, you can't beat a young Mary Tyler Moore. Valerie Harper is sexy. Heck, a young Cloris Leachman was damned good looking (she was a beauty queen, in case you didn't know). How these three broads (70s speak) were single is beyond me.

I know. Phyllis was married to Lars, but we never saw this cat, so I'm not buying that she wasn't at least a little bit available.

What's funny is that the company I work for is based in Minneapolis, and I've always put in the back of my mind that, one day, I might actually live in Minneapolis. Maybe I'd get to meet Mary Richards and Rhoda Morgenstern, and if they're still single, who knows?

Finally, an interesting article about Dane Cook, asking the question whether the multi-millionaire comedian is actually funny. Now, I have only listened to parts of his recordings, primarily because I personally have found him to be completely devoid of anything funny to say.

So, I'm thinking to myself, "Hell, I might not be the only one."

My brother, who is only six years younger than me, thinks he's very funny. I'm going to make myself listen to at least one full Dane Cook CD this weekend just to make sure I'm not totally wrong about this guy.

Now, I never found Richard Pryor to be funny. I don't need to hear MF a billion times to laugh. I never found Sam Kinison to be funny. Who needs yelling? That wasn't funny to me. George Carlin is clever, not funny. Seinfeld clever, not funny. Bob Newhart clever, not funny.

I do not laugh when I hear or see those people. But, I appreciate their art tremendously.

On the other hand, Chris Rock is damned funny. Steve Martin is funny. Roseanne Barr can be funny. Eddie Murphy, too. Robin Williams is a bit manic, and his hyperactivity wears on me, but he's funny.

Jonathan Winters is hilarious. Dave Chappelle is genius. Denis Leary is very entertaining, but doesn't exactly evoke a belly laugh.

Ron White's "Tater Salad" CD is one of the funniest things I've ever heard.

Margaret Cho can be viciously funny, as can Kathy Griffin and Joan Rivers.

Love Dave Attel. Hate Wanda Sykes.

Bernie Mac and all the Kings of Comedy ... funny, funny, funny. Heck, Bernie Mac is part of the reason "Bad Santa" was as funny as it was, and the man's sitcom on FOX was excellent.

Robert Schimmel is very, very funny.

Norm MacDonald is greatness.

Sorry, but I thought Andrew Dice Clay was funny for at least a short while.

Nevertheless, my point is that I'm not so sure that Dane Cook isn't the first comic who is at once completely unfunny but also not clever or artful. Am I totally wrong here?