Election Eve 11/1/04

Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! I am stuck in the quagmire, glued to CNN, CSPAN, CNBC and Nightline, pondering polls and electoral votes, stopping just short of using tea leaves in my ridiculous attempt to discern who will be the country’s next leader. I’m turning blue from holding my breath, somehow certain that the world will collapse if George Bush is re-elected tomorrow. Inundated with information and dizzying numbers (polls) and colors (blue states, red states, purple states?) and sound bites (“he can run but he can’t hide”), hoping and praying for a fresh start and a different plan, I eagerly await what I am certain is the most important presidential election of my lifetime. A Los Angeles Times editorial today fell just short of endorsing Kerry because their policy is never to do so, but they proclaimed, “If elections were solely a job performance review, President George W. Bush would lose in a landslide. He has been a reckless steward of the nation's finances and its environment, a divisive figure at home and abroad. It's fair to say that Bush has devalued the American brand in the global marketplace.” Even the revered Republican pundit, CNN’s Tucker Carlson, said this evening on “360” that he thinks Kerry will win because the opposition to Bush is more powerful and more passionate than his support. People who want a change are more motivated than those content with the status quo. I am not content with the status quo. As the daughter and wife of military men, I’m enraged by the impulsivity of Bush’s decision to go to war, his inappropriate choice of adversaries, which appeared to be based on a vague and changing agenda more than actual concern for our country’s safety, when we had real enemies out there who had attacked us, by his inept and incompetent strategy and execution, his failure to support the soldiers he put on the ground in Iraq and to be prepared for the ground war we’re now fighting. Mr. Bob had a great entry today (http://middle-aged-guy.blog-city.com/). There is a link to his blog in my gutter. Please, read it. He spoke of our national symbol, the eagle, with its two wings, which he likens to our political parites that make it possible for the eagle to soar, and he speaks of the great need for reconciliation after all the votes have been counted. I can’t say it any better than he did. Vote, and may God bless America.