Election Musings 

Election Musings

Well, it's finally over. I, for one, am glad; frankly I was tired of it. But, it was during this time that I saw the greatness of America and yet at the same time I saw the weakness of America.

George W. Bush will be our President for the next four years. He received a surprising mandate from the American people with the most votes of any Presidential candidate in our nation's history. Not only did he repeat in the electoral college win; but he also was the first President to have over half of the nation's populus voting for him in over 16 years! (Yes that even includes the Democrat Godfather Clinton) Surprising from the most divisive leader in American history. But anyway about the weekness and the strengths of this country.

I opened the editorial section of my local paper and instead of finding a Kerry for President advertisiment (like I had grown used to over the last year) I found a "I can't believe Kerry isn't President" advertisement. Articles about being "utterly ashamed of my country" and "I hope America remembers this collosall mistake when Bush blows up America" littered the pages. Can't we get over it and go on? All you liberals talk about is unity and how President Bush is a divider and yet you can't even let 24 hours go by without spewing vitriotic hatred. I understand it during a campaign when emotions are high and you want to win but now? Now, when we have troops in harms way who need our help and unity together to win the war on terror. Why does it always have to be "We hate Bush's guts!" all the time. Can we give it up?

Well, that was the bad; how about the good? I went to the polls early Tuesday morning and was struck by something very simple and yet profound at the same time. It was here that I was greeted by the normall friendly poll workers that always seem to be there giving a helping hand. It was there that I saw neighbors, some familiar, some not. I saw those like a family friend, a staunch Democrat, standing by his Jeep with a friendly smile. It was here that I found a sense of community; a sense of commonness. We were all in the same boat; feeling the pride of doing our civic duty......together. It didn't seem to matter that my neighbor was a diehard Democrat and I was a red-blooded Christian conservative. There was a sense of commrodory (sp?) and community. We shared friendly conversation and a few laughs. The division of the campaign seemed so far away. Could this be what still makes America great? Could our leaders learn a lesson from the people they serve? Maybe.