In November, 2008, I wrote the following for my monthly e-newsletter. As this is Election Day in America – and there are a lot of fears about what reactions people will have based on the final outcome – it seemed like a good time to publish it again…
History walked among us last Tuesday – regardless of whether you’re liberal, conservative or squarely in between. The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States will be studied by schoolchildren in the year 2227, just as our kids today read about George Washington. As eye witnesses, we are privileged to have experienced it in our lifetime.
Full disclosure: I voted for the other guy. While that may cause some of you to immediately stop reading and hit “Unsubscribe” – and others to say, “I knew it, Martha! He’s one of us.” – the deciding issue for me was balance. I didn’t want to see the Executive branch and
Congress controlled by one party. That weighed more heavily on my mind than whether Republican values were a better choice than Democratic change.
Mr. Obama is a great orator, and the impact his victory is having shows he has the potential to inspire action. In 71 days, he’ll take the oath of office and be thrown into the fire, with our nation facing its greatest challenges in a generation. Like all leaders, he’ll make right decisions and wrong ones, and he’ll ultimately be judged on which way the scale tips most often. At this time, in this nation, all of us need him to succeed. When you hit your knees tonight, set politics aside, and pray hard for him to receive the gift of wisdom.
Mr. McCain easily carried Texas, receiving this red state’s 34 electoral votes. Our 18-year-old daughter cast her first presidential ballot this year. During the primaries, she said: “Tell me again how my vote matters? A Republican is going to win Texas regardless of who I vote for, so does it really count?” Kids say the darndest things, even after they grow up.
Our forefathers did an amazing job laying the foundation for this country; however, we’ve found it necessary to add 27 Amendments to the original ratified document. In these wonderful days of so many citizens feeling included in the future of our nation, perhaps it’s time to consider abolishing the Electoral College, and truly make Election Day a one-person, one-vote process.
