Nearly four years ago to the day, I wrote a post expressing my thoughts on the eve of the 2004 US Presidential election. I was realistically pessimistic about the chances of John Kerry winning enough Electoral College votes to become the next US President. It turns out, I was right to be pessimistic.
To this day, I still don’t fully understand why American voters decided to continue to support Dubya. On November 2, 2004, the US was already mired in the conflict in Iraq. Bush lied to Americans about the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. He also never finished what he started in Afghanistan.
The American people could have held Bush accountable for his misdeeds but they tragically did not. They stunned the rest of the world by re-electing him. Bush thanked his people by mishandling Katrina and letting the US economy collapse.
Despite the massive criticism sent towards Bush and his Republican administration for Katrina, guess who is currently leading in the polls in Louisiana? Yeah, I am afraid so. Are the people of Louisiana just dumb or just really forgiving?
So tomorrow, US voters will again have a chance to elect a new President. Who will it be? In 2004, I had a tiny bit of empty, baseless hope that Kerry would win. It was the same type of hope you get when buy a lottery ticket. You know a win is a (theoretical) possibility but in your heart, you know it won’t be there.
In 2008, I also have a tiny bit of hope but it’s different. It’s a genuine and real but albeit small amount of optimism that enough Americans will finally have that moment of clarity to make the right, sane, and logical choice on Tuesday. I’m desperately hoping that US voters will be courageous enough to vote for change and to steer their country to a better course.
There is a perceptible difference between Kerry’s campaign in 2004 and Senator Obama’s campaign in 2008. Somehow, there are many more people who seem willing to stand with Senator Obama and his platform. It could be just circumstance but it’s my impression that many US voters want change and they want Obama to be the one to affect that change.
Despite the optimism I’ve seen, I still expect a close race, right to the end. Why will it be close? Who will be voting for McCain? You can thank the uninformed, the racist, the fundamental Christians, and your plain old, dumbass morons for that. The US is still far from a perfect place and for every state that will turn red on Tuesday night, you’ll see an example of that.
For any of my US readers who might be reading this, I ask you to make the right choice on Tuesday. I ask you to consider where your country has been heading in the last eight years and if that’s the right direction for it. Be brave and consider a change for the better.
On Tuesday night, I’ll be at work watching the voting results. There probably won’t be too much work going on as many people I work with are deeply interested in the election. Where ever you are on Tuesday night, let us all hope the US (and the world) gets the change it needs and deserves. I’ll see you on the other side.