Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Election 2008

I was thrilled with how the 2008 Presidential Election turned out. As an Obama supporter, I was obviously happy with his win, but I was also happy to see the old John McCain I knew and loved. The 2008 campaign was painful to watch as John McCain sold himself to the people who had a hand in taking him down 8 years ago (the right wing nuts of the Republican party). It has been incredibly sad for me to see how far John McCain has fallen since 2000. I had supported him in the 2000 primary, and if he had won, I had planned to vote for him over Al Gore in the general election (sorry, Nicholas). Unfortunately (for our entire nation), he did not win the primary and we've been stuck with 8 years of Bozo Bush.

It was a breath of fresh air to see his concession speech on election night. Why couldn't he have been more like that during the campaign? He appeared gracious, strong, and honorable once again. If you want to read his full speech, click HERE. If not, here are a few of my favorite sections:
I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

Tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama.

I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.

Although McCain's speech was inspiring, it was nothing compared with Obama's speech (To read it, click HERE). I was so inspired by his call "a new spirit of service." Here are some of my favorite sections:
What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Loved it!! Loved that both McCain and Obama called for Americans to come together. It resonated with me so much. I'm really hopeful and excited for the change I think is coming.

1 comment:

Sansego said...

I was looking forward to reading your thoughts on the election.

About 2000, I wanted McCain to win the Republican nomination and I believe that he would've beaten Gore easily (without the mess in Florida). Even though I had wanted to work in the Gore Administration, I would've been more accepting of a McCain administration. I absolutely hated Bush from the start and didn't think he was qualified to be president.

I believe that the McCain we saw this fall was perhaps his secret plan to bring down the Republican party in revenge for 2000. He didn't look upset at all when he gave his concession speech. It's like he knew he was going to lose for months (even his SNL performance seemed to indicate that he knew). It's the only logical explanation I can think of for his behaviour this fall. He wasn't himself. I think it's because he couldn't have his top two choices for VP, so he picked the one religious conservatives would accept even though he knew she wasn't qualified and let the party destroy itself in the process.

I don't think he truly wanted to clean up Bush's mess. He was probably glad to see the crazy wing of the Republican party go down to humiliating defeat. Now, he can work to redeem himself as the maverick we all know and love.