Election Stuff

I've had a week now to process the results of the election. I've seen people who are totally elated over the results, people who are completely devastated over the results, and many shades of gray in between.

At first, I was very excited about voter turnout. I thought that Obama's win indicated a higher turnout of voters in general, especially young people (18-25 age range) and minorities - groups who historically feel that politics does not apply to them (or, more appropriately, that the politicians do not care about them) and consequently do not show up to vote. I honestly thought that this standard of not showing up would continue and would cost Obama the election.
Then I found out that the overall numbers were about the same for this election as they had been in 2004. Slightly higher, yes, but overall very similar. So I thought that maybe a different demographic had decided to stay home this election. More digging proved different. Young people and minorities had slightly higher percentages than before, but only very slight - one or two percentage points. So obviously, the demographics of the American Voting Public have not changed.

I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the results. I still do not believe that Obama is the right person for the job, at least, not right now. I do think that some of the voters chose him simply because he is black, others because he is young, and many, MANY others chose him because they hate the current administration so much that anyone associated with it is an automatic no-go for them. None of these are "good" reasons to choose someone for the highest office in the land, but then again, at least those people showed up at the polls and voiced their opinions.
However, I don't think that McCain was the right answer, either. Neither candidate was my choice for POTUS. I did vote, and it took me a lot longer than usual because I sat there and thought about how I truly felt on each of the proposals as well as a fairly long debate with myself on who I would choose for President.

I am truly concerned for Obama's safety and that of his family. There have already been attempts on his life. He is in a very dangerous position; there are people out to get him. I do hope that he survives his four years in office, and I really hope that he is able to fulfill at least one of his campaign promises. The Democrats having a majority in Congress will help him in that regard - he is not likely to find strong opposition there.