Closing thoughts.

This afternoon I cast my vote for Barack Obama. I think he is a good man with good ideas, and I think he would be good for our country.

I believe many of those supporting Obama are there because of the way he makes them feel. Hopeful. Rejuvinated. Empowered. I suppose that on the surface that could seem silly, but I think it's indicative of our needs as a country. The last administration ruled by spreading fear and confusion. Scare tactics enabled the Bush administration to obtain an unprecedented level of power for the executive office, throwing away our checks and balances, thus beginning the slow erosion of our constitutional rights. I think that people ache for something different. We want to be inspired. We want to be empowered. We want our government to hear us, to know us. We want someone to fix our horrific reputation with the world. We want, not fear, but hope. (And a president who can string together a sentence would be a big improvement, too.)

I think that John McCain is a good, decent man who has spent many years in service of his country. He should be respected for his work in the senate, and honored for his years of military service. I also think that his campaign was way out of his hands - it has all the hallmarks of the Bush administration (which I think are probably just hallmarks of whoever is "behind the curtain" at the RNC). Sarah Palin was a distractor. She was picked to cause a commotion, and hopefully win a few voters who had been swayed by either the youthful, energetic campaign of Obama or the female voters once inspired by Senator Clinton. Sarah Palin is not capable of leading our nation, and that to me speaks volumes about the party who would put her within inches of the oval office. Our nation is in a time of crisis, and that they would put an incompetent person on the national ticket, just to try and score a few votes - that's irresponsible and repugnant. I pity Palin, because I think she was intended from the start to be a sacrifice to the Republican party. She was used for the purposes of the party, and she's very expendable. If they win, she'll make a good figure head. If they lose, she'll make a nice scapegoat.

I love our country. I want to see us get through this election and then turn our focus to the difficult issues facing our nation. We need to unite, to find common ground and move forward. If people would just care tomorrow half as much as they care tonight, we could accomplish anything.

As twilight falls, I am cautiously optimistic.