So here we are, finally, two years and two billion later, about to be done with the never-ending rollercoaster that has been the campaigning and run-in to the presidential election taking place tomorrow, November 6th. It will be an historic day given how divided the country clearly is, how reminiscent of Bush-Gore it could possibly become, and because almost certainly, roughly half of the country is going to wake up on Wednesday morning depressed and disappointed.
The saddest thing about the choice facing people is that it almost certainly has to be a vote for the lesser of two evils, or rather the best of the worst. I don't get the feeling that either side is going to catch the decisive votes for either the incumbent or the candidate in a positive fashion; on the contrary I feel that those votes will be placed simply to help prevent the other guy from winning.
There is a degree of fear and loathing (not just in Las Vegas) on both sides of the table, and each side has legitimate arguments for why it could be a very bad thing for the nation if they vote this way or that. Not just due to the ridiculous level of negative attacks from both sides, this election is going to be an election based on perceived fear - it's quite literally a million bloody miles away from the now laughable term "hope and change". How quaintly old-fashioned and out of touch those words sound today.
A vote for Obama is nothing more than a vote for the status quo, and a vote for the ongoing partisan politics that have frozen Washington since the mid-terms of 2010. The fact that Obama has effectively been campaigning since 2010 (hell, make that early 2009!) in many ways underlines the fact that reelection has basically always been priority #1, with the issues in second place. I would rather he had spent considerably less time in the airspace above the Hollywood hills, and more time brainstorming on Air Force One in peace and quiet, coming up with plans to solve the unemployment crisis, or fulfilling some of the broken promises of 2008.
Romney is the unknown who strikes cold-blooded fear in many as a potential financial robber baron dictator who will unleash a full Republican agenda on the world once he takes up residence in the big old white house. Once again, the rich will become even richer, the middle class destroyed under Obama's watch will remain on ice, on hold, until all the powerful money men have been brought back to prominence and prosperity. Watch out world, as a non-apologetic military-minded Republican power base begins to reassert some of the global cocky bullying that disappeared after removal of Bush and his henchmen.
The two men have such different opinions on what needs to be done for the economy, how people can be put back to work, healthcare issues, military funding, women's rights (to some extent), foreign policy and even on how much time should be spent gassing on daytime/nighttime TV. The Obamas have broken all records on that one (no surprise for Hollywood-huggin' celebrity-hangin' types) and Romney has barely been seen on anything resembling a talk show.
Foreign policy is a biggie, and you can bet that Israel, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia (to name but a few) are watching this election as closely as Americans are. Obama and Romney are basically polar opposites when it comes to almost all of these nations, with relations and what to do about Israel now front and center. If Israel decides to strike at Iran, who is sitting in the White House is going to make a massive difference, one that could be a global difference in a very short period of time.
Now that all the hoopla and hype is done with, it is simply time to vote. People will effectively vote for four more, very much of the same - a dysfunctional Washington with nothing very much changing, and a continuance of the current mess, or they will vote for "change" - meaning a change is as good as a rest, even if the risk might be very high. The world will likely be a safer place under Obama, but y'all sure can't expect any new jobs anytime soon. It could be a scarier place under Romney, but he might have enough fire in him to kickstart the economy in the short term.
It's effectively a crapshoot, a real gamble, and neither option is what is truly needed to repair and rebuild a once great nation. That's the state of play on the eve of this historic vote on the state of the union. The one thing that is crystal clear, is that as much as ever before in history, the people must exert their democratic right to vote and pick one side or the other - apathy is not an option! The stakes are too high and with the polls showing that even today it is neck-and-neck and too close to call, well, every single person needs to get out and express their vote.
When one recalls that what got the USA into this mess in the first place was the mere FEW HUNDRED votes separating Bush from Gore in Florida in 2000, it is abundantly clear that EVERY vote does indeed count and must be submitted. Tomorrow is going to be one hell of an interesting day, and I will be glued to the screen as history unfolds. A stiff drink might be necessary to get through this one! ;) - Kevin Mc
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