Last night was the first time I stayed up until the polls closed and the election was called since 1988. The elections between that one and this one just didn’t have the draw for me. I was perfectly willing to go to bed and see who won in the morning (of course, I had a surprise in 2000). This means that I have not been up to watch/listen to the concession and acceptance speeches.
Last night I listened to one of McCain’s best speeches ever (that I recall) and it’s disappointing to me that it was his concession speech. The man had so much potential if he had a) stuck to his original ideals and b) not been torpedoed by the situation and several blunders. I could have voted for him as president, if he hadn’t turned into a middling-right wackaloon on so many social issues, and if he hadn’t picked a far-right wackadoodle-loon as a veep. In his choices of tactics and companions he lost this one independent voter.
I haven’t posted much on my blog about the election because I don’t feel that I can add much to the general debate. I also don’t like the partisan bickering that goes on between friends and co-workers. I hope that those people who have viewed with alarm the situation of one or the other candidate winning will put away their “I’m moving to [better place?]” poster and get on with being one of 300 million Americans. We’re all in this together and a loss last night doesn’t mean you can’t try again in two and four years.
I have faith in our system; it works well to ameliorate the wild swings in philosophy of our political leaders. Join me in being a citizen of a republic of laws, not of men.
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