It's Election Day!!!

Some people are passionate about sports, cars, theatre, reading, guns or home decorating. Others follow the stock market or business. But my passion has always been politics and current events. As long as I can remember I have watched the news, read newspapers, Time Magazine, Newsweek and more recently followed the news via the internet.

According to my mother I came running to her at the ripe old age of five crying because I had heard that the price of sugar had gone up and I didn't know how we would ever survive. My earliest recolection of politics is watching President Jimmy Carter sitting by a fire, in his cardigan sweater, asking Americans to turn down the heat and wrap up in a blanket or sweater because we were in an energy crisis (I would have been seven or eight years old). I clearly remember watching Ronald Reagan take the oath of office while U.S. hostages were being released after 444 day's of captivity (today is the anniversary of their captivity--keep that in your 'gee whiz' file to impress your friends at parties).

I have worked on political campaigns for almost every level of government: City Council, State Senate, County Assessor, Gubernatorial (ever wonder why it isn't govinatorial since it is the race for Governor?) United States Senate, and the United States House of Representatives. I have worked as a volunteer putting in many hours after school and on saturday, much to the detriment of my homework and grades (except for political science), and I have worked as a paid staffer living and breathing the campaign, sacrificing sleep, health, friendships and sanity for a cause and/or candidate that I truly believed in.

I have spent many crisp fall day's and nights handing out campaign flyers and knocking on doors in rain, snow, sleet and hail. Or driving through South Weber in a snow storm while my brother, Travis, hung out the window putting flyers in newspaper boxes. I have been yelled at, mistaken for someone's boyfriend and had a gun pulled on me. I even spent a very late election night cleaning ballots looking for the dreaded "hanging chads" that caused so much consternation in the 2000 presidential election.

I have had the priveledge of visiting Washington D.C. and touring the White House, meeting with Members of Congress and eating in the congress member's dining room. I have visited the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials and reflected on the many challenges that these great men faced. I have been to the VietNam and Korean War memorials and seen the names of many who have given the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation.

It takes a special kind of person to run for office. To be willing to put yourself out there, have your name in the media and enjoy victory or suffer defeat in the public eye. None of the people that I have worked for were ego driven, each of them ran because they wanted to contribute, to make a differnence. Each of them put their heart and soul into their campaigns and those that lost suffered a pain and sadness that is difficult to understand unless you have actually lived it.

It is heartbreaking to me, when we find it necessary to demonize our political opponents or those whom may not agree with our political philosophy. When the campaign's turn from a discussion of policy and how best to help the country to personal attacks and character assasination. Don't get me wrong, I'm not niave enough to think that this is something new. There were nasty political attacks when George Washington ran for president and they have continued ever since. Our political system was set up to be confrontational but sometimes I fear that in this world of 24 hour news cycles and political pundits the confrontation eclipses an actual discussion of policies.

Whatever the outcome of today's election, it will be an historic day. Historic in the number of people involved, in the number of people registered and in the amount of money spent (i'm not sure that is a good thing).

If the Obama/Biden ticket wins it will be the first time in history that a person of African descent has been elected president. If Senator Obama had been born 200 years ago he would not even have been counted as a full person (3/5ths) according to the United States Constitution. As late as the 1960's there were still law's in some states that limited the rights of African-American's to vote. Those law's were emliminated by the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.

If McCain/Palin is victorious tonight we will reach a similar milestone. Sarah Palin will be the first female Vice-Presdent of the United States. If Governor Palin were born a century earlier she would not be allowed to vote in many places in the United States. It wasn't until the 19th Amendment to the constitution was ratified in 1920 that women throughout the United States received the right to vote (women were allowed to vote in 1870 in the State of Utah).

If the Eubanks family get's their way this election day and Chuck Baldwin, of the Constitution Party, is elected then it will be the first time in history that a so-called third party candidate has won the U.S. Presidential election (although I think Teddy Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party came close).

Regardless of the outcome or whether you feel your candidate has a chance, please get out and vote. Too many people have given their lives and livelyhood's so that we can vote in peace and for the individual or party of our choice. There are too many places in the world today that don't have that right for us to squander it or take it lightly.

It is my prayer that whoever wins this election will have the support of the American people. The political pundints on the left and the right will immediately start tearing them down and finding fault but the issues we face today are much too important for politics as usual. The new President-elect faces challenges every bit as imposing as those faced by Abraham Lincoln or Franklin D. Roosevelt and he will need all of our prayers and support. He will need an honest dialoge and discussion of ideas and not a barrage of attacks and negativity.

Sorry this has been so long but thanks for reading. Now stop reading and GO VOTE!!!

Kevin