Why I'm Excited

As the NYT headline said yesterday, this has been an election campaign that has kept us on the edge of our seats. It truly has been an election for the ages and the history books. It has seemed endless; it has gotten into negativity; it has offered some of the greatest contrasts in recent memory. Tomorrow it will be over. Some will be happy; some will be sad. We will all breathe a sigh of relief and probably continue to sit on the edge of our seats waiting to see what kind of president the president-elect will be.

It was an election that everyone assumed would be a referendum on the war in Iraq. Instead it has turned toward the economy and the very nature of where we are going as a country. It may still end up a close finish- who knows? No one should be taking anything for granted after the way the polls and pundits have been off-base so many times.

Sadly, it was also a race that was perhaps more divisive than we have seen in the past 40 years. Some went digging in the trash of the past. Some supporters went beyond the standards of good taste or good American politics with name calling and innuendo. Sadly, though, I have been disappointed by the McCain I have seen the past several months. That is not the John McCain that I considered voting for in 2000.

In any case, no matter which slate wins, history has already been made and will only be more so after tomorrow.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I will be voting for Barack Obama tomorrow. I have always been a Democrat. I was from a Democratic family in a highly Republican area of northern Pennsylvania. Only once in my adult life did I not vote that way. This will not be a second time.

In fact I am excited about this election in a way I have not been in 40 years. This is an important election. It has also been quite unique. It isn't very often that both candidates are running against the incumbent. That says a great deal about Bush 43 and the incredible mess that we have fallen into as a result of some highly questionable and constitutionally uncertain actions.

In any case what has me excited about what I am participating in include the following.

Amen. This election may be the first that is NOT Boomer politics. We are hopefully moving beyond Vietnam and the Cold War approach to world affairs that has been controlling so much of what has happened in the past 50 years of American politics.

I have seen Obama show such an amazingly positive attitude throughout the campaign. Admittedly there have been some lapses- and admittedly it is easier to be positive when you are leading- but he has shown a calm and a grasp of the situation that gives me a sense of hope.

The election of Obama could very well give both a national and international image that will do as much to counteract the image of the last 8 years as anything he does in the first months of his administration. That we elect an African-American as President will say a great deal to many people of many countries. If we are to remain that "best hope" for democracy in the world, I can't think of a better place to start to regain the support and admiration of many.

He is not the "radical" he is made out to be. In fact many will actually be surprised at how "mainstream" he actually turns out to be. Yes, he is a liberal. It is time, however, to turn that from being an attempt at insult and portrayal as "un-American" to a positive viewpoint. But he is not going to overthrow the American way of life. Bush and Cheney have done so much damage to that already with their playing footloose with the constitution that it will be nice to see how we can gain our balance back again.

Sadly, at least at the start, his very presence will be somewhat divisive. To some an African-American in the White House will seem sacrilegious. There will be those who hate him simply because he won. Others will be quick to point at any and every mistake he might make. We live in a difficult time. It will not get easier just because he (or McCain) get elected. Time will do that. As well as a steady, balanced leadership.

In spite of the slams on "community organizers" they have to show a great deal of skill to be successful. They have to be able to bring people together, to listen to various sides and find the path down the middle, building coalitions and working groups. Our national community needs that kind of organizer today.

I don't expect him to be perfect- he is only one man. Nor do I expect him to pass every one of my personal litmus tests for ideological purity. I know I disagree with him on some points. But part of what makes democracy work is that we are willing to work with people who may not agree with us 100% of the time.

So, disagree with me if you will. We don't need to agree in order to love our country. All four candidates are patriotic and have shown it in many different ways. Patriotism isn't the issue. Leadership is. Experience isn't the issue. McCain has no administrative experience and truly Palin is the only one who does. It isn't about who they "pal around with." I have a hunch everyone of them have been with people who would be considered less than positive.

It is about policies that I agree with. We may disagree on those. But by voting tomorrow we have the opportunity to have a voice. So while I want all of you to vote the way I do I know that isn't a reality.

But vote!

I may do some election night blogging as things unfold. Or I may wait till Wednesday. But it will be interesting I am sure!

(BTW, my amateurish punditry says it will be closer than the polls say but not as near as McCain says it will be. But it will be clearer than either of the past two elections. The Democrats will not get a "veto-proof" majority in the Senate but they won't need it anyway.

Oh- and the sun will rise on Wednesday no matter who wins.)