First, the unbelievably fantastic news. Barack Obama will be the first African-American President in the history of the United States. That is something I've been waiting a long time to say. I'm an Independent but I knew that the Republicans could not have another four years to further screw up the nation. Thankfully, John McCain pretty much rendered his campaign useless when he chose Sarah Palin, whom I believe he barely knew and may not even like all that much, as his running mate. Now, I'm not gonna bash either of them. I think McCain lost a lot of what people loved him for during this campaign. He began as the "maverick" (I sooooo hate that word and am thrilled to not have to hear it anymore) he billed himself as but was soon so enveloped in the same Republican party that brought us Bush, that he showed a completely different side of himself. And that side was not a good one. And, as a result, his reputation is...well, not what it was before he decided to run. I've always liked John McCain and I appreciate and respect all that he's gone through for his country. Blue or red, you have to admit that he does love America. During his very gracious concession speech last night, he showed why people respect him so much. What happens with his reputation now? Good question. Sarah Palin...what to say here. Again, I do not have anything against her. I don't think she's politically smart enough to run for a national office at the moment. I think she has a lot of learning to do and if she's open to it, she could be a force in the future. I do not agree with many of the things she wanted to do as v.p. but I'm sure this is not the last we'll hear from her. She's got the charisma to be a player in her party for a long time. It'll be interesting to see where her path goes from here, as well. Obama...still hasn't fully sunk in for me yet. I hope that the people who didn't vote for him or who helped in spreading lies about him during this campaign will eventually come to embrace him as our 44th President. There is a lot for him and the Obama Administration (doesn't that sound freakin' awesome?!) to deal with both in our country and around the world. Hope is the message he carried throughout his campaign and if you didn't feel that same sense of hope during his speech last night, something is wrong with you. Despite a decisive victory, there will always be critics and some will expect this change he's been preaching to happen overnight. We all know that is not going to happen with the mess we're in now. But I think this is a gigantic step for us as a nation and a step in the absolute right direction. Last night, I particularly enjoyed seeing that Obama had won Florida, a Southern state. I expected McCain to sweep the South. It was a nice surprise. I also liked watching all of the people lined up outside the White House in D.C. It was almost as if they were there to help Bush & Co. pack.
Now, the bad news. There were several measures on the ballot seeking to ban gay marriage or gay adoption. They all passed. In Arkansas, unmarried people and homosexuals are no longer allowed to adopt or foster children. Florida stripped unmarried couples of their rights and banned gay marriage. And, most disturbing of all, California voted to ban gay marriage, possibly rendering some 18,000 unions in the state no longer valid. As I've said, I have friends who married soon after it became legal and my heart just breaks for them. Even worse, this measure passed, at last count, 52% yes to 48% no. Just over half should not be enough to decide such an important issue. Now it will work its way through the court system. What makes me even sadder is that Pop 8 was blatant discrimination and yet some polls are showing that a large number of Hispanics and African-Americans voted in favor of it. I still don't understand how you can vote for discrimination when you've experienced it yourself. I could never do that.
So, as we move forward with the election of Obama, we take a few steps back by taking away basic rights from some of our fellow Americans. Hopefully, the discrimination against homosexuals and gay marriage will find some sort of solution in the future. No one should have to fear losing everything they have if something happens to their partner and they pass away. I'm excited about Obama and where he won and how he conducted himself throughout his campaign. And I'm hopeful that eventually everyone will be treated equally.
