One Vote at a Time

By Carol Silva

So, I voted yesterday. Nothing new in that. I mean, I once waited behind almost 200 people to vote for Water Commissioner in my community. But I don't think I've been so excited to pull that little lever, ever since the first time I voted - when I turned 18. 

And I love the volunteers at my polling station. They've been there forever - and yesterday - years into volunteering - they were shocked themselves at the thick lines of people caught up in the electric feeling of this historic election. (As an aside - they told me an older gentlemen in our community had voted earlier in the day. Then they said, "I think he also voted for Lincoln!")

But yesterday was all about that other Illinois politician - Obama, and McCain, and the possibility of the first African American President or the first female Vice President - and the young people who registered and voted in record numbers, and economics and Sarah Palin and George Bush.

Exit polls show about 66% of younger Americans - 18 to 29 years old - voted for Barack Obama. John McCain got only about 32% of that younger vote. Today, Republican leaders across America are looking for ways to re-energize their party - including with a stronger presence on college campuses.

There are big questions about whether Sarah Palin helped or hurt John McCain. She certainly brought some youthful vitality to the Republican ticket. But she got more attention for her interviews - and on late night television - for some of her answers on American policy. That's not to suggest Joe Biden didn't bump her out of the spotlight with some of his flubs. McCain recently said something like, "Every once in a while, Joe Biden stumbles his way into the truth."

Then there's America's financial crisis. Wall Street went bust, just when the candidates were   approaching the final stretch of their 2-1/2 year campaign. Desperate Americans, including the tens of thousands losing their jobs, and losing their homes to foreclosure, made a strong connection between the policies of the President George W. Bush administration, and his Republican colleague John McCain.

In fact, the economy overwhelmed all other problems. It was picked by more than six in 10 voters as the most important issue facing the nation. Obama had a clear edge with those voters. He led John McCain among them by about 9 percentage points. Four in 10 said their family financial status is worse now than four years ago - when George Bush's second term began.

Significant in all of this though, was the man who said - growing up black, he'd always been told what he couldn't do - what he couldn't be. Now he says, we all know anyone can do anything - because this is America.

Comments

[SUSAN L.RUDNICK]

CAROL; OUR SON DENNIS RECENTLY BECAME ENGAGED TO A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN HE MET @ THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON IN SEATTLE.OUR FAMILY IS PREDOMINATELY RUSSIAN-AUSTRIAN .JOY'S FAMILY IS POLISH & AFRICAN AMERICAN.WE COULDN'T BE HAPPIER & MORE PROUD TO WELCOME HER INTO OUR FAMILY.MY MAIN POINT IS ; OUR PRESIDENT ELECT ALSO HAS A RAINBOW FAMILY BACKGROUND.I FEEL WE ALL NEED TO EMBRACE THIS AND MOVE FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN WE CAN TRULY JUDGE EACH OTHER SOLELY ON THE CONTENT OF OUR CHARACTER.SUSAN L.RUDNICK AMITYVILLE N.Y.