NASCAR is down to its final two races and there is a serious chase going on between Hendrick's Jimmie Johnson and Roush's Carl Edwards. Things will be very interesting this weekend in Phoenix.
In college football, this past weekend was an EPIC game and huge upset as Texas Tech defeated Texas on the last play of the game! On Thursday night, Utah barely hung to defeat TCU and remain alive for a BCS berth, although BYU is lurking in the wings. Tomorrow is the biggest game in the Pac-10 this season, as CAL squares off against USC. (Which reminds me, that deal with Pepsi and the CAL/USC tickets? It turns out that it will be for the USC/Stanford game in a week down in Palo Alto, so that is cool.)
And lastly, the Phillies won the World Series in five games over the Rays, clinching the title at home on the tail end of the first rain-delayed game ever in WS history. I'm sure my former missionary friends and families are thrilled that their Phils took the pennant once and for all!
The focus of this blog, however, is just to put my final thoughts on this year's presidential election.
SARAH PALIN
When it comes to picking vice presidents, two firm rules apply. First, do no harm to your campaign. Second, pick someone who is ready to be president.
With Sarah Palin, John McCain violated both rules, paid dearly and reinforced them for future candidates. Surveys showed that three-fifths thought Palin wasn't qualified to be president and, of those, 82% voted for Barack Obama.
THE WORLD REACTS
Not only did people around the globe follow the U.S. presidential race obsessively, they did so with an overwhelming preference for Obama. In Kenya, President Kibaki called Obama's victory a "momentous" day and declared a public holiday.
This hardly translates into instant solutions to complex foreign policy challenges, or reversal of the damage done by President Bush's first term go-it-alone policies. But it will give Obama a leg up as the next leader of the free world. And in any case, it's uplifting to see the world waving American flags instead of burning them.
THE LOW ROAD
It might be a temporary phenomenon, born of a sour economy, or it might be a more permanent shift. But one lesson from this election is that name-calling and fear-mongering simply didn't work.
This was evident in the failure of ads trying to link Obama to one-time radical Bill Ayers and fiery pastor Jeremiah Wright.
This year's results should send a message to politicians of all stripes that there is a real downside to hitting low.
THE LONG CAMPAIGN
Exhausted American voters and candidates could be forgiven for wondering whether it was really a good idea to spend the better part of two years choosing a president. Here's a heretical thought: Yes.
Long campaigns give us the invaluable luxury of enough time to see how candidates handle endless pressure - a fair test for how they'd stand up to actually being president.
A candidate who seemed too green at first (Obama) gradually grew in stature, and a far more experienced veteran (McCain) eventually revealed a worrisome lack of poise in dealing with the financial meltdown.
Extended campaigns give voters who pay attention plenty of information about the candidates, particularly if a crisis or two erupts along the way.
THE BIG TURNOUT
Voters turned out in huge numbers, attesting to a newfound sense of civic engagement and enthusiasm. Even before Election Day, more than 31 million had cast ballots in early voting, which proved to be a helpful relief valve. Overall, it seems that more than 133 million people voted - in sheer numbers, the largest turnout ever.
No once-every-four-years system involving more than 100 million people will be flawless. Nonetheless, voters deserve a system that matches their enthusiasm. It's not too early to start working on that for 2012.
PROP 8
Who knows what the end of the road for Prop 8 is? Clearly it is not the ballot box. In all three states where this was on the ballot, it passed, defining "marriage" as a union between one man and one woman. All the arguments about discrimination, the separation of church and state, and what-have-you about gay marriage I find incredibly interesting. I can honestly see how both sides of this proposition feel as strongly as they do. Yet, the fact of the matter was that the proposition was on the ballot and the will of the people was still clear, that Prop 8 would be in effect.
The resulting cries and protests over the vote are rather interesting to me. Clearly this is not a simple matter that could be settled by a ballot. It will most likely wind up in the courts, which is how we got into this mess in the first place. So, instead of the people getting the chance to vote, it appears that we will leave this important matter up to the interpretation of judges, whose job it is to enforce the law, and yet at times, it appears, would appease their own self-interests.
I find this proposition, personally, to be a very religious proposition. And maybe there is something to be said about separating religion from state in this regard. People much smarter than me should have known that, so I don't think it is that easy. Certainly, bringing that point to the courts will be useful, but not entirely convincing. Anyhow, what some people see as homophobic and discriminatory, is seen, through the lens of those people with deep religious convictions, as their relationship with God and His plan for our lives.
In other words, if someone's relationship with their God is such that they do not believe in gay marriage, their vote is not a vote of discrimination as much as it is a vote of their conscience and belief in God. Who am I, and who are you, to try and dictate what one person's relationship with their God is? Because I know that anybody vouching for gay marriage certainly does not entertain the idea that anyone else can tell them what they should think. Is their vote for gay marriage heterophobic? Are anti-Prop 8 voters discriminating against the rights of people who think marriage should be defined as the union of one man and one woman?
It's a wonderfully stimulating argument, and one that truly has two valid sides to it, just as every coin has. The name calling, irrational, disrespectful tone of the Prop 8 campaign (for and against) has led to my final point.
I am guilty of this, because I have spent far too much time trashing John McCain and Sarah Palin during the final months of this election. Some of that I regret, and much of it I wish could have been refocused on the fact that Barack Obama was doing what I should have been doing. As usual, in his trendsetting fashion, he was rising above the mudslinging and seemed to always keep his cool. He never took the bait offered by those antagonizing him. He never attacked Sarah Palin. He kept a calm and collected disposition at all times, it seems. I respect him for that.
Barack Obama himself would have voted Yes on 8, by the way. He has said that he is not for gay marriage. I wonder how that strikes people. He is for civil unions and benefits, but not for gay marriage.
The big story of this year will not be the Prop 8 controversy, though that is going to take front page now due to the uproar it's passing has caused. But it will be the fact that the United States of America OVERWHELMINGLY voted for Barack Obama. His victory was clear, decisive, and unequivocal. This guy painted the country blue on Tuesday, and his historic victory as the first African-American to enter the White House as President, sends rays of HOPE (the cornerstone of his campaign) throughout the world that better times lie ahead.
God Bless America!
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