Well, here we are...the day before Election Day 2012. Who will our next president be? What will the makeup of Congress and state legislatures be all across the nation. Ballot measures, governorships and dog catchers - all are in the offing on Tuesday.
I've already voted. Mail in ballots are the only way to vote in Washington state. But, for most Americans, they will still actually go to the ballot box on Tuesday and cast a vote for President for either Willard "Mitt" Romney or Barack Hussein Obama. (Side note: wow, perhaps the all time "name" match up for president?)
To supporters of each candidate, below are a couple thoughts about how this is all going to go down and what I think you'll be thinking election day...
To Romney supporters I say: deep down in your heart of hearts, you know Romney is going to fall short. Sure, it'll be close, and sure he's within striking distance and sure in your mind you believe that his election is essential. But, you also know that Romney is at best tied in the national popular vote and is at a disadvantage in the electoral college. You know that even if Romney eeks out a popular vote win, it's unlikely that he will win enough big states to put him over 270 in the electoral college...especially compared to Obama and the states he is leading in. You will think just how unjust it is that a leader who has presided over an economy that has shown sluggish progress in four years is going to rewarded with another term. This will gall you. You will suddenly become vocal opponents of the electoral college system. But then, right after Romney concedes the election, you will have a revelation. You will start thinking about how "fun" it's going to be to dog, stymie, obstruct and undermine Obama for the next four years.
Obama supporters I say: deep down in your heart of hearts, you know this is going to be a very, very uncomfortably close result...and that it should never have been so. You will be sweating it out and at least twice during election night you will panic and think, "Oh my God, we're going to lose this thing." You will cast your mind back to how Obama blew his first two years in office with majorities in Congress in his attempts to "work across the aisle" and "engage" with Republicans. You will think about how truly bad that first debate was for Obama and how that gave Romney new life. But mostly, you'll be kicking yourself that Obama isn't posting an absolutely dominating win against the draft dodging, tax dodging, anti-women, anti-gay, job exporting, "voodoo economics" pedaling wooden aristocrat that is Mitt Romney.
On Wednesday morning, you will either wake up hung over and overjoyed or hung over and pissed off depending on who you voted for. And then, as it always does, America will go onward.
And hey, think about this: If your guy does not win, the 2016 race will probably start in about 12 months...so you have that to look forward to.
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