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November 03, 2008
Tomorrow's the day
Well friends, tomorrow is Election Day. Some of you have already voted, some of you are going to vote tomorrow, and some of you might not even vote at all. I myself am going to vote tomorrow. As Mary Schmich noted in her column yesterday, there's something invigorating about going to vote on Election Day. It makes it an event. It helps that I have nothing else to do.
Anyhow, the first presidential election I was old enough to vote in was the 2000 election. I was still in Ohio at the time, and as recent presidential politics have shown, most people only care about Ohio during elections. Typically, the national media cares about Cleveland when the Cuyahoga River catches on fire; about Cincinnati when the cops shoot somebody; and about Columbus when Ohio State students riot. But every four years, it's all on. Ohio is a microcosm of America! It's a political bellwether! As goes Ohio, so goes the nation!
And so it was in Ohio in 2000. Al Gore and George Bush criss-crossed the state, begging for votes. I was a very cynical fellow at the time, and I didn't like Bush OR Gore. So what did I do? I voted for Ralph Nader. As it was, George W. Bush won Ohio, 50% to 46.4%, with Nader snatching 2.5%. The Nader vote wasn't enough to override Bush's lead, but it sure did matter in Florida, where Nader got 97,000 votes and Gore lost by about 500 votes.
After eight years of George W. Bush as president, I have come to regret my vote for Nader. Sorry about that, America.
entry no. 1238
Posted at November 3, 2008 02:44 PM