Composure

Last night was a brief moment of triumph for most everybody. The calm of the presidential debate after the dastardly orgy on the Republican campaign trail was cause for a huge sigh of relief.

The moon was in Capricorn on Obama's Saturn and Jupiter was in the vicinity too. Oddly, the moon also joined up with McCain's natal moon but, unfortunately, he has a pesky dilemma ... his south node in Cancer, a source of his whining, pleading, demanding, whimpering, and assorted immature behaviors as displayed throughout the election season thus far.
With Pluto nearing Capricorn, the time is suggesting, perhaps demanding, self-discipline and control. In my view, Obama expressed quite well what is required in this time of turmoil, even when his opponent deleted his identity by referring to him as "that one".. ? ... Isn't he "The One"? They can't get their message straight. That can be problematic in politics.

Here's what I learned watching the media-defying graph of the viewers' response. The women were much much more emotionally reactive, but the men were less susceptible to the political phoniness. The graph went down with every attempted joke (they were meek on both sides) and when McCain repeated many times that he "knows how to do it" they didn't believe him. They were unimpressed with his past record, and even unmoved by his previous confinement.

The line went off the graph for the longest time I'd ever seen when Obama spoke of health care. It dipped every time nuclear energy was mentioned, although the other alternatives sent it high. It went up on defense strength but also went up on talk of diplomacy. Energy was hot both in terms of economics and international relations.

The serious Capricorn moon dulled the response to all the joke-making but that also could have been a reaction to the hilarity of the recent campaign performance. Attacks were not appreciated. The coming Capricorn energy seems to be battling with the wildness of Sagittarius these closing days, as the tone tries to get sober and serious, then reverts to the excess for a few last thrills. Obama, however, is like cucumber.

The lessons of self-discipline are valuable and I think they apply beautifully to the current dilemma. Many people react with hatred toward Sarah Palin and the Drill Baby Drill crowd, but that's exactly the trap. It adds energy to the frenzy. Hate is something that's unhealthy when sustained. Too much love has its pitfalls too. No one knows what drives people to such frustration, and there's always a segment of society that behaves this way. They're part of the group. Moderated reaction helps.

Obama's composure is almost impossible to believe after one and a half relentless, brutal years on the trail. It's probably a quirk of nature. A rare gift and something to be prized in leadership. But for the rest of us hapless, hyper anatomonids, we can learn by osmosis. And with the help of Capricorn. We have a natal Pluto to bank on.
My Journey in Photographs: Salvador, Brazil: Annie Griffiths Belt