Friday, September 26, 2008

The 2008 Election Follies

I'm looking forward to the first Presidential debates between Barack Obama and John McCain, which will start in just a few minutes. I get the feeling that much of the rest of the country is too.

I gotta say, the 2008 Presidential election has been more entertaining than last season's American Idol. Unpredictable, wacky, in the spirit of the best farce. My husband and I watch each day's events and wonder how things could ever get more ludicrous and, sure enough, the next day tops it.

It's been a sad election too. I've heard far too many people say that the America they knew, the one they grew up with, the one they were proud to be a part of, is gone. In a way, I suppose it is. The lies told and the cynicism shown by some of our leaders have left us feeling like a country of lost souls. The Bush years have ripped the heart out of America and I wonder how we will overcome that.

We can overcome it, of course. We've been through worse. But it's to the advantage of the dividers and the polarizers to make us believe we can't.

We need to pull together as a nation and as a people. Roger Cohen of the New York Times had a terrific column about that topic. You can view it here.

Okay, it's time. I'm off to watch the debate and I hope you are too.