Matt Yglesias at Think Progress reminds us that, had Al Gore prevailed in 2000, most of the people who currently support Barack Obama for President might instead be supporting Joe Lieberman.

I guess we really were in a lose-lose back then.

My sister just sent me some pictures from yesterday’s massive rally for Barack Obama in Miami’s Bayside Park. Yes, the pictures are kind of blurry (she must have been shaking with excitement!), but she was there.

And here’s one of the crowd:

By the way, the point of this rally was to kick off early voting, which has just begun in Florida. So if you live in Florida, you can go vote anytime between now and Tuesday, November 4. If you want to avoid the lines, you’re probably gonna want to get moving on that sooner rather than later.

Living outside the U.S., I don’t watch a lot of news on TV, and I have to say that I don’t really miss it.

But I would like to see the rest of this interview with Colin Powell, former Secretary of State (under George W. Bush) and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (under George H. W. Bush):

Okay. If you’re an American, the last couple of months have probably felt like you’ve been getting screwed by a rhinoceros unusually challenging times. I know this turn of events has added some extra excitement to my life.

There are some things you can do to make yourself feel better, though.

One of them is voting – but, in most states, you have to wait a few more weeks to do it (until Tuesday, November 4th), and it looks like that game is winding down a little early this year, anyway. (Let’s hear it for Florida!)

Still, please vote; it’s never a sure thing until the guy takes office. Especially if you live in Florida or Ohio.

The other, more immediately-gratifying thing you can do is eat panqueques con dulce de leche – one of Argentina’s most significant contributions world happiness:

If you’re in Buenos Aires, Miami, or New York, you should make your way to Novecento. I used to live across the street from the one in Brickell (Miami). Take my word for it on this one. Order the panqueques, with ice cream.

In the likely event that you don’t live in any of those places though, or, in the even more likely even that you’re on a budget, you’ve got to take a slightly longer road to get your panqueques.

First, go to Pip In the City, (the source of the picture above) and get her recipe. Pip has graciously provided it as a public service to the entire world.

Second, find someone who you love very much.

Next, find some way to get that person to make the panqueques for you.

Finally, eat the panqueques.

After taking these four simple steps, I guarantee you’ll feel much, much better about everything.