Hope vs. Nope

In 2004, on the day before Election Day, I wrote a post on this blog entitled: Please, America. Do the right thing tomorrow.

Yeah, well. We all know how that turned out.

So here we are, four years later, on the cusp of a historic election. America is about to elect either our first black president or our first female vice president.

Lines are stretching for blocks in states with early voting; I have no idea what the lines will be like here tomorrow, in non-early-voting Alabama. I've never in my life waited more than 5 minutes to cast a vote, in any election. I suspect that may change tomorrow.

I'm sure the vast majority (of the small minority) of people who read this blog have either (1) already voted via early/absentee ballot; or (2) have decided, with 100% certainty, for who they'll vote tomorrow. (And if you're not voting in this election, you'd better be under 18 and/or not an American citizen. Otherwise, no acceptable excuse.)

But just in case there are any "undecided" voters among my readership, let me make the final case for Barack Obama.

America has been incredibly damaged by the eight years of George W. Bush's presidency. I almost typed "irreparably," but I hope that's not the case. Our standing in the world is in tatters due to the nonsense of the Iraq war. We're spending $10 billion dollars EVERY MONTH in Iraq, driving our nation further into debt. Our education and healthcare systems are a fucking joke compared to the rest of the industrial world.

Osama bin Laden, who murdered 3000 Americans on 9/11, remains at large. Bush had a chance to finish the war in Afghanistan, finish al-Qaeda once and for all, and he pissed away that chance, pulling troops into the Iraq quagmire instead.

Under eight years of George W. Bush, the disparity in this nation between rich and poor grew even wider. GWB rewarded his fat cat donors, his corporate masters, his oil company buddies with tax cuts and credits.

While New Orleans drowned, Bush helped John McCain celebrate his birthday. With cake, even.

The way John McCain has campaigned for the presidency leaves no doubt that he'd govern this nation the same way Bush has. He's run a divisive, nasty campaign, just like Bush ran in 2000 and 2004. Supporters at his rallies yell "terrorist" when Barack Obama's name is mentioned, they harass and sometimes attack members of the press, and McCain does nothing.

Like Bush before him, McCain is only interested in dividing the country to help him win. He doesn't care if he turns 50.1% of the nation against the other 49.9% if it gets him to 270 electoral votes.

His "Country First" campaign slogan was proven to be a crock of shit when he nominated Sarah Palin to the VP slot. It was clear then, that it was "McCain First," and always has been. No one can, with a straight face, state that Palin was the most qualified choice for the position. Not even close. A 72-year-old man, with a history of cancer, has chosen an unqualified crackpot to be second-in-line to the presidency. Unforgivable.

And yet, I don't want to encourage people to vote against George W. Bush. Or vote against John McCain. Or even vote against Sarah Palin.

Instead, I want people to vote FOR BARACK OBAMA.

This is a man that can bring this nation together. A man who would end the war in Iraq during his presidency. A man who will push for a healthcare system that will offer coverage to all Americans (and that's not "socialism," morons!). A man who will decrease the tax disparity between rich and poor; he understands that the largest tax breaks should go to the people who need them, not the people who don't.

I want a president who is smart, particularly after the monkey of the last eight years. Obama is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard, where he finished magna cum laude. He was the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review.

The man has brains. And he has a power to bring people together like no elected official I've ever seen. The way he has gotten people excited about his campaign, the way he defeated Hillary Clinton in the primaries (who had every possible advantage going in) is just amazing.

He is a devoted father and husband, and by all accounts he adores and dotes on his two daughters. I don't like to harp too much on "family values," but I think the way a person treats his/her family says a lot about their character.

I turned 18 in 1992, and cast my first presidential vote for Bill Clinton. I wasn't particularly politically-connected, but I knew I was a Democrat. I still think Bill Clinton was a great president, but his legacy will always be tarnished by the fact that he couldn't keep his pants zipped. (And to me, his conduct during the Obama/Hillary primary was deplorable.)

In 2000, I was -- and continue to be -- a fervent admirer of Al Gore. He would have been an amazing president; and yet, in the long run, he may do more good for the world because he lost (or, "lost") in 2000.

Barack Obama, though, has a real chance to be the greatest president of my generation. I will take my daughter Sophie to the polls with me tomorrow. And even though she's only two-and-a-half, and even though it may be tricky to stand in line with her for an extended period of time, and even though Alabama will end up in John McCain's column tomorrow, Sophie will be with me when I cast my vote.

Because I want her to know that she was in the voting booth on the day America made history.