Micaiah ben Malachi and I completed our ballots a week before Election Day via absentee voting since we're both disabled. Managing crowds and long lines prove to be quite difficult for us. We always do absentee voting every major and minor election. Before we voted, though, we watched all the Presidential debates and the one and only Vice-Presidential debate. Though we wanted to vote for Senator Barack Obama, we were still somewhat undecided. Some questions, Obama answered straight forward while he didn't answer other questions straight forward. Senator John McCain did this as well, but anybody who watched the debates knew upfront where exactly McCain stood and what he was going to do. People somewhat knew where Obama was coming from and where he stood, yet answers needed to clarify where he stood or was coming from were often vague. The only major issue that was clear to Micaiah and I was that, if we voted for McCain, then Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska would be the Vice-President. If something happened to McCain, then Sarah Palin would become President. While I don't see a problem with a female Vice-President or President, the fact is that she is totally pro-life. Like McCain, she wanted Rowe V. Wade overturned. I am for women having their choice to keep the baby or abort, so I did not want that important right to be taken away just because they didn't agree with abortion. On the other hand, to vote for Obama meant that the policies and changes he's been pledging to implement may not be fulfilled if Congress doesn't agree with him. Yes, the President has the right to veto a bill, but bills still return to the House and Senate to be rewritten and voted on in the end. If there's a lot of bickering across party lines or within the primarily Democratic Congress, then most to nothing of Obama's pledges will be fulfilled. Of course, that wouldn't be his fault, yet many out here would blame him for it. In short, voting for Obama would mean that he could be subjected to criticism and humiliation at the White House and by the public. In lieu of Governor Sarah Palin's staunch pro-life views and the fact that Senator Obama may be the only Black person on the ticket in many years to come or in mine and Micaiah's lifetime, we voted for Obama. Once we exercised our duty and our right, I tried not to think much about the election. I didn't want to get my hopes up that Senator Obama would win only for Senator McCain to win. The possible scenarios of humiliation or attempted assassinations Obama might experience if he were to win the election also weighed heavy on my mind. In short, the idea of Obama winning excited me, yet it frightened me. Micaiah ben Malachi and I know two people personally who have told us that they did not want a Black president.
After a long hard day's work in our backyard on Election Day, Micaiah and I had dinner and took a little nap in our easy chairs in front of the TV. He slept deep, but I was too keyed up to sleep deep. I did not want to miss the final tally votes. If Senator Obama won, I didn't want to miss his speech. I think it was about 10:00 PM (Central) when I finally awoke altogether to hear that the final votes were in from the west coast States. Obama won the election by fifty-two percent over senator McCain's forty-seven percent. What was interesting was that Virginia, Indiana and a couple other States had more Democratic votes this year than in previous years since 1964, when Lyndon Baines Johnson was running for President. Moreover, being that these were States in which race mattered most, it was interesting to learn that they still voted for Obama despite the fact that he's Black. Race still matters to most people because many would prefer a White person over a Black person as President, but those who voted for Obama either genuinely believe in him, or they voted for him because they want to say that they are not prejudice or racist because they voted for a Black man. Whatever their reason for voting for Obama, once it was confirmed that Obama won, another hour passed. During that hour, Senator McCain gave his concession speech in Arizona. Of course, the crowd booed when McCain mentioned Obama and Joe Biden's names. At that, senator McCain calmed the crowd down with "Please". His response to the crowd's booing was interesting, especially when he often referred to Senator Obama as "That man" or "That man over there" during the debates. Suddenly, such booing from the crowd was unacceptable. By this time, Micaiah finally awoke. He Thought that Senator McCain was conceding to lose until I briefed him on the tally votes. About fifteen minutes after McCain's speech, Senator/President Elect Barack Obama gave his speech from Chicago. The crowd cheered so loud that one would think that all of the sports teams from Chicago won the World Series, Superbowl and basketball championship at the same time. In Obama's speech, he admitted the fact that he knew that there are many people out here who would not like his ideas and plans. He also admitted to the fact that all that he has pledged to do during his campaign may not be completely fulfilled during his first year in office or during his first term altogether. Yet, he promised that he would try to do the best he could to accomplish what he pledged. To me, that is all one can expect. I would rather hear a speech like that than someone who makes a promise to do something only to not follow through. He made a promise to try to give the world, but not a promise to give the world.
Makedah bat Leah
