OK, so now we've nominated Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Obviously, the best we can do is be half-right.

I've been predicting since before the Iowa caucus that the nominees will be Hillary Clinton and John McCain. I am sticking with that. I still see the Clinton "machine" as too entrenched, shrewd and well-oiled to be beaten.

Thought I'd briefly recap the elections here, and offer a view or two of my own. I'm not Dennis Bailey, George Smith or John Martin. I don't breathe this stuff. But I've been editing Maine election stories, meeting state leaders — and working election nights — for going on 12 years now. Here are a few quick takes:

Racino: Once again, southern Maine opposes gambling so it failed statewide. My take on the currently operating Hollywood Slots in Bangor is it's lucky to have passed. It was on the same ballot as the full-fledged, Sanford casino (which failed). The Bangor racino passed, I believe, because some voters saw it as a compromise in that election (they voted no to the glitzy Sanford plan but yes to the smaller Bangor racino). Plus, Bangor voters went for it. Maine may have more legalized gambling some day but it won't be easy. Maine seems split 53-47 on this issue rather consistently.

Term limits: Rep. Pat Flood, a Winthrop Republican, nailed it. Flood told a Capital Weekly reporter that his constituents saw changing term limits as a very low priority. He felt the Legislature looked self-serving putting this on the ballot without popular demand. They did so and they got hammered. Some people feel the referendum question should have been to repeal term limits entirely. That would have been shelled as well. For better or worse, term limits are here to stay.

College bond: Hey, at least it passed. There is some concern that it passed narrowly. Why did it? Perhaps an odd combination of conservatives feeling the state gets plenty of money without bonding, so why ask for more (this was espoused by the Waterville Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, which opposed all the bond questions)? Perhaps a bit of reverse-classism: "If these college people can't get by on the money we already give them, have 'em charge the students more and leave my money alone." But Mainers generally support statewide bonds and this one did get through this year.

Land bond: A simple one here. Mainers live in Maine because we love it here. Preserving more of what we love is a natural thing to do. Plus, protecting waterfront access and public land is something many of us can enjoy once we do it. You don't have to be a college family. You don't have to gamble or live in Washington County. We all enjoy the outdoors and, by preserving more public areas, we know that our children and grandchildren will have places to enjoy too.