One of my favourite episodes of West Wing is about this place.

On this the eve of the election, I’d like to capture my thoughts before America either elects a president who its first 26 presidents could have legally owned, or brazenly subverts the very ideals it was founded upon by manipulating numbers in a final embarrassingly overt goosestep towards corporate totalitarianism.

I am nervous. And not night-before-the-swim-test nervous or even night-you-lose-your-virginity nervous, it’s a low rumbling primal panic which I can only liken to Star Wars panic. Disney panic. The edge-of-your-seat-terror that makes you wonder if Skywalker’s doomed after he refuses to join Darth Vader and drops down into the abyss, if the wicked octopus or grand vizier or steroid-pumping-village-misogynist is going to wed/kill/skin the dashing prince and then evil people in dark funny costumes are going to take over the world… if it wasn’t a movie of course.

And tonight it’s not. It’s not a movie and yet I feel like Obama might as well be wearing an American flag cape while a decaying McCain, in a high-tech robotic spider wheelchair wearing an eyepatch and stroking an evil cat, gives orders to a sexy scheming Palin who marches back and forth through their sub-terranian campaign lair in four inch thigh-highs and full-body black leather catsuit bossing around the evangelical ants with a loooooong whip… umm… is this just me?

Anyway, the point is that things feel weird folks. I have friends who have peed in waterbottles to keep from interrupting a Halo-playing marathon who got off their asses/couches to volunteer for the Obama campaign not once, but many times. Friends so cheap their body content is at least 1/3 Ramen Noodle who donated a good deal of their hard-earned cash to the campaign. People have registered to vote in record numbers, and yet, something just doesn’t feel right. I think we should stop congratulating ourselves for just voting. To vote is a privilege which people have died for, and I think there’s a whole lot more to be done for the country than to simply help win an election every 4 years.

Hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of man-hours spent on both sides by good-intentioned people who want to make a difference in an historic election, so many resources and voices and energies devoted to a single day. After tomorrow, half of that is going to have been a waste. And I can’t help but wonder what could have happened if all that muscle had been put towards something else, and what will happen to its momentum after the election has come and gone. Shouldn’t we be donating our money to good causes whenever we can? Helping people who don’t have? Dedicating some of our time to contribute to making the country which provides for us a better place? Of course a power shift is a hugely significant step on the path to great reform, but worrying about this election has been a wakeup call for me:

Even if Obama wins, we have not “won.” This isn’t a movie and we can’t toss every greedy lobbyist oil fatcat bigot down a reactor shaft. I think if we dedicate ourselves to the ongoing welfare of the country as much as we have to the outcome of this election, we’ll have a much better shot at coming closer to the overwhelming good the liberals hope Obama will usher in, but which no mere mortal could fully realize alone.

Which brings me to the other side. I’ve heard a lot of people claim that if McCain wins, they’re leaving. I heard the same thing about Bush’s reelection, and his unelection before that, and nobody seems to be leaving. And that’s fine. Because as much as I complain about certain political happenings, atrocities, etc., I really do like it here and I suspect most other people do too. We have New York and Hollywood, purple mountain’s majesty and sea to shining sea, we created jazz and country music and baseball and cars and lightbulbs and computers and that movie with hundreds of animated singing Chihuahuas! I mean who among the shivering Plymouth pilgrims ever imagined ordering hundreds of animated singing chihuahuas onto a magical box from an invisible information superweb?

The point being, if things don’t turn out the way I want tomorrow, I feel compelled, as a college-graduated adultish-type-person, to take a stand. And if I’m going to leave I’m going to leave. But if I’m going to stay I’m not going to sit around whining like I have for the past 8 years. It’s like when I don’t clean my room because it’s dirty and then I blame the dirt. So in my very indecisive way, before you and your screen, I’m declaring my intention to make some kind of stand in the event of -(Ican’tevensayit)-, and encouraging you to consider making one too…

Jump the ship or grab a bucket?
-Sigh-
Wasn’t everything so much easier back when the worst possible affront to your values was a PB&J sandwich cut diagonally with crust?

Anyways, I guess what I’m saying is that if we’re going to stay on board, we should probably be generous with our time and resources when times are tough even more than when the hero saves the day. Because what if he doesn’t? And what if he can’t?

Yours Nervously,
Hannah Friedman
http://www.writinghannah.blogspot.com

On this the eve of the election, I’d like to capture my thoughts before America either elects a president who its first 26 presidents could have legally owned, or brazenly subverts the very ideals it was founded upon by manipulating numbers in a final embarrassingly overt goosestep towards corporate totalitarianism.

I am nervous. And not night-before-the-swim-test nervous or even night-you-lose-your-virginity nervous, it’s a low rumbling primal panic which I can only liken to Star Wars panic. Disney panic. The edge-of-your-seat-terror that makes you wonder if Skywalker’s doomed after he refuses to join Darth Vader and drops down into the abyss, if the wicked octopus or grand vizier or steroid-pumping-village-misogynist is going to wed/kill/skin the dashing prince and then evil people in dark funny costumes are going to take over the world… if it wasn’t a movie of course.

And tonight it’s not. It’s not a movie and yet I feel like Obama might as well be wearing an American flag cape while a decaying McCain, in a high-tech robotic spider wheelchair wearing an eyepatch and stroking an evil cat, gives orders to a sexy scheming Palin who marches back and forth through their sub-terranian campaign lair in four inch thigh-highs and full-body black leather catsuit bossing around the evangelical ants with a loooooong whip… umm… is this just me?

Anyway, the point is that things feel weird folks. I have friends who have peed in waterbottles to keep from interrupting a Halo-playing marathon who got off their asses/couches to volunteer for the Obama campaign not once, but many times. Friends so cheap their body content is at least 1/3 Ramen Noodle who donated a good deal of their hard-earned cash to the campaign. People have registered to vote in record numbers, and yet, something just doesn’t feel right. I think we should stop congratulating ourselves for just voting. To vote is a privilege which people have died for, and I think there’s a whole lot more to be done for the country than to simply help win an election every 4 years.

Hundreds of millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of man-hours spent on both sides by good-intentioned people who want to make a difference in an historic election, so many resources and voices and energies devoted to a single day. After tomorrow, half of that is going to have been a waste. And I can’t help but wonder what could have happened if all that muscle had been put towards something else, and what will happen to its momentum after the election has come and gone. Shouldn’t we be donating our money to good causes whenever we can? Helping people who don’t have? Dedicating some of our time to contribute to making the country which provides for us a better place? Of course a power shift is a hugely significant step on the path to great reform, but worrying about this election has been a wakeup call for me:

Even if Obama wins, we have not “won.” This isn’t a movie and we can’t toss every greedy lobbyist oil fatcat bigot down a reactor shaft. I think if we dedicate ourselves to the ongoing welfare of the country as much as we have to the outcome of this election, we’ll have a much better shot at coming closer to the overwhelming good the liberals hope Obama will usher in, but which no mere mortal could fully realize alone.

Which brings me to the other side. I’ve heard a lot of people claim that if McCain wins, they’re leaving. I heard the same thing about Bush’s reelection, and his unelection before that, and nobody seems to be leaving. And that’s fine. Because as much as I complain about certain political happenings, atrocities, etc., I really do like it here and I suspect most other people do too. We have New York and Hollywood, purple mountain’s majesty and sea to shining sea, we created jazz and country music and baseball and cars and lightbulbs and computers and that movie with hundreds of animated singing Chihuahuas! I mean who among the shivering Plymouth pilgrims ever imagined ordering hundreds of animated singing chihuahuas onto a magical box from an invisible information superweb?

The point being, if things don’t turn out the way I want tomorrow, I feel compelled, as a college-graduated adultish-type-person, to take a stand. And if I’m going to leave I’m going to leave. But if I’m going to stay I’m not going to sit around whining like I have for the past 8 years. It’s like when I don’t clean my room because it’s dirty and then I blame the dirt. So in my very indecisive way, before you and your screen, I’m declaring my intention to make some kind of stand in the event of -(Ican’tevensayit)-, and encouraging you to consider making one too…

Jump the ship or grab a bucket?
-Sigh-
Wasn’t everything so much easier back when the worst possible affront to your values was a PB&J sandwich cut diagonally with crust?

Anyways, I guess what I’m saying is that if we’re going to stay on board, we should probably be generous with our time and resources when times are tough even more than when the hero saves the day. Because what if he doesn’t? And what if he can’t?

Yours Nervously,
Hannah Friedman
http://www.writinghannah.blogspot.com

Favorite episode? You mean they aren't ALL favorite episodes?

Yeah, I'm kinda a West Wing nut.

It may be a good omen for Obama.

President Humphrey took the Notch back in 1968 and rode that wave to victory.

It may be a good omen for Obama.

President Humphrey took the Notch back in 1968 and rode that wave to victory.

Is it a small lead? The people of Dixville Notch have voted Denocrat only once since 1960…

http://maxwell-devin.blogspot.com/2008/11/obama-takes-huge-lead.html

Is it a small lead? The people of Dixville Notch have voted Denocrat only once since 1960…

http://maxwell-devin.blogspot.com/2008/11/obama-takes-huge-lead.html

I hope he takes it. It would be weird if he didn't and I would assume it was fixed if that was to happen.

I also hope the democrats don't get too much power and that more people vote Libertarian.

http://www.lp.org/introduction/what-is-the-libe…

but I'm not sure how things work down there. Do you get to vote for President/party/candidates/whatever separately?
because I hope thats the case.

I mostly only follow our own politics and how things work then down there.

I'd of voted for Obama and for the Libertarian candidate.
(or democrat/republican based on their independence/non-partisanship of the individuality and ideas.)

but like I said, I'm not sure how it works done there.

I'm honestly in a bit of a pickle. I'm naturally a conservative, but I honestly don't like John McCain that much. I don't think that he's the right guy for the job, and while I adore Palin AS A PERSON, and think she's an amazing lady, I don't think she's cut out to be VP…. yet.

That said, I don't like Obama. To be honest, I think he is hyped up to a lot more than he is in real life, and while he has some great speechmakers, isn't really that revolutionary. I have a very strong feeling that if he gets into office, we'll realize that he's not the messiah that the media have made him up to be.

So….

NADER FOR PRESIDENT!

If Obama’s at a 5:2 ratio already, that’s not a good omen for McCain. But it’s plenty early yet.

If Obama’s at a 5:2 ratio already, that’s not a good omen for McCain. But it’s plenty early yet.

Bad bad omen … a prez Obama will rape Canada and kill Ontario auto manufacturing. Ontario will not only be a “have-not” province, it will become a rust belt slum after the Obama Democrats unleash their protectionism agenda and suck back all the auto jobs to Deetroit … and you had better believe it.

Bad bad omen … a prez Obama will rape Canada and kill Ontario auto manufacturing. Ontario will not only be a “have-not” province, it will become a rust belt slum after the Obama Democrats unleash their protectionism agenda and suck back all the auto jobs to Deetroit … and you had better believe it.

Cranky…Did I get caught in a time warp?…President Hubert Humphrey ?…Come On !!

Cranky…Did I get caught in a time warp?…President Hubert Humphrey ?…Come On !!

Looking forward to the overall results in a few hours. Yes We Can America!!!!

I've been thinking … whatever happens, it's going to be a win-win for Obama and McCain:

Whoever wins the election, becomes the POTUS–the goal of the past two years of electioneering.

Whoever loses the election, gets his life back (which'll probably make his wife happy).

Smiles all around … right?

No – basically, individuals vote for people to vote for them. Google electoral college for a fuller explanation. The National Post ran an article a couple of days ago on how it works. It's not like ours. It leaves room for bought botes in the electoral college. The system dates back to the pony express days when it would take to long to bring in all the ballots from across the country. It makes me think of voting through somebody else and not directly. As I say – google “electoral college” and you'll find explanations.

Hmm, very interesting.

I'll be sure to read up on it. Thanks.

Hmm, very interesting.

I'll be sure to read up on it.

Thanks.