DTV switchover- A Really BIG Deal!

This morning I perused the headlines about meaningful(ok, some more than others) topics such as the continued violence in Israel, the continuing case of Blagojevich, and Sam Adams sex life, when something caught my eye: "Senate Ok's 4-month delay to DTV switchover". Some notable soundbites include:

"Monday's Senate vote is a big victory for the Obama administration and
Democrats in Congress, who have been pushing for a delay amid growing
concerns that too many Americans won't be ready for the currently scheduled
Feb. 17 changeover."

"Delaying the upcoming DTV switch is the right thing to do," said Senate
Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., author of the bill to
push back the deadline. "I firmly believe that our nation is not yet ready
to make this transition at this time."

I understand that after the election of the first African-American President, and one that speaks with such grand rhetoric that we have been hearing such bold language, but does the transition to digital TELEVISION require it?

Perhaps I'm just bitter because the transition effects me very little, much of the media I consume is on the internet, and the TV I do watch is cable. Then there is the incessant ads for the transitions, mostly hocking the government coupon for analog converters. I was very much looking forward to the end of these ads especially because the airspace freed up from TV would go to meaningful services such as an interoperable emergency communications bandwidth, which to me is FAR more important than TV.
The only that makes me laugh harder than the image of what might happen if some Americans didn't have TV for a few days is the fact that it was passed by a unanimous vote, if only more issues were a bipartisan issue (healthcare anyone?).

God Forbid Americans be without Real Housewives of Orange County for just one second.