election day, 2008
The electicipation is killing me.
Larimer County, Colorado (my home precinct) has some of the best voting practises in the nation - and has served as a model for vote reform for many other precincts. They introduced early voting and voting by mail years ago.
I voted by post a month ago by absentee ballot and this is my first election living as an expat. What a time to be an expat! I’m incredibly relieved to have not had to endure the onslaught of political advertisements on the television, radio, and mailers put through the post box. I don’t miss that. For as long as I’ve been a voter I have been a registered Independent which means I got double the political crap during the run - up to the election process. I really, really don’t miss that. It has been such a relief this election to be able to turn down the semi-libelous radio/teevee/whatever adverts and be able to experience the American election process through the cool professionalism of the British and European media.
29 million people have already voted as of this moment. America is expecting the highest voter turnout in history. What an exciting time.
It is beyond heartbreaking to hear the news that Obama’s grandmother died on Sunday, so close to seeing her grandson make history, but if this election year was a novel, it would happen at the peak of the story arc - to make for the most dramatic climax possible.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a happy ending, and hoping that Mr Obama will have the strength and energy to hit the ground running after an exhausting and absurdly long campaign. I’m thanking Hillary for running such a tough primary campaign, too - that campaign made him tough enough to withstand the usual shitslinging that the republicans do in an election.
So here’s to hoping that tomorrow morning I will wake up to the dulcet tones of Charlotte Green on BBC4 telling me that Barack Obama is the president - elect of the United States of America.
Recently I read a blurb on NPR that brought me to tears, the final statement was this:
Rosa sat so Martin could walk.
Martin walked so Obama could run.
Obama is running so our children can fly.
Indeed. Not just black children. Not just American children. But as President of the last remaining superpower on the planet, he’s done it for all children, and that is certainly something to think about.
We have a lot of work to do.
