For the past few days, the media has been proclaiming victory for Barack Obama. I heard one pundit say that the election is over and there is no way John McCain can win. The downward spiral in the polls seems to be catching those working for McCain in the whirlpool as well. There are rumors that a McCain advisor thinks Palin is a “whack job.” Is this a sign of campaign implosion? I’m just glad someone finally agrees with me.
While the McCain talking points haven’t changed much over the past week, Obama has been giving his closing argument in key battleground states across the United States. Monday in Pennsylvania, Obama gave a speech about unity titled “One Week.”
“In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope,” he said.
For Obama and his followers, this election is about more than partisan ideology, it’s about the road not taken. It’s about a fresh perspective that includes people across the political spectrum. A vote for Obama is not merely a vote for a Democratic politician, it’s a vote for turning back from the crooked, dark path America has been on for the past eight years and choosing a new path – the path of hope.
This election also calls into question the extent of the Senate Democratic majority. It is possible that the Democratic senate gains 60 seats this election, which would give the Democrats a filibuster-proof majority. While this prospect excited me at first, it left a lingering sense of unease.
I am a firm believer in the two-party system, and I think that throughout history, the best decisions have come from a Senate and congress where both sides shared in the exchange of ideas. The serious economic crisis sliding into a deep recession, and the issues facing us with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will require our legislators to seriously evaluate possible solutions – and this is most effectively done when there is a strong opposing party to raise questions.
But this election season is about even more than the presidential election or congressional elections. It’s also about the propositions up for vote – most heatedly in contention, Prop 8. I think anyone who has been to Farmer’s Market lately can attest to the importance of that proposition to many people, and I would like to applaud ASI President Angela Kramer’s thoughts on Prop 8 in Monday’s Mustang Daily. Prop 8 infringes upon people’s constitutional rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, and the end goal of the proposition is to legislate one section of the population’s moral beliefs onto everyone else. But, as Kramer suggested, go to Farmer’s Market and hear both sides of the Prop 8 argument; the answers you will get at the booths will be more concise than you are likely to hear from any 24 hour news network on any issue this election.
I also recommend taking the time, at this opportune moment before everyone votes, to experience the wonder of America at Farmer’s Market, and see your First Amendment in action.
Stop along Higuera to watch the protestors boldly flashing their signs, marching amidst the averting public and listen to the music of the ’70s blaring from the amplifiers of aspiring musicians. While I certainly disagree with half of the signs, the scene reminds me of what I truly love about America: the freedom to express ideas and personal beliefs.
From today until Tuesday, America stands before “Two roads diverged on a yellow wood,” as Robert Frost wrote, and we will choose one road and follow it, for better or worse. There is no option for anyone not to choose a road. Not voting is a choice to walk blindly down the road that the rest of America chooses.
This election in its entirety revolves around the ideas of change and hope. We know that the past eight years have left us in corruption, economic distress and a myriad of other issues which seem to have no end. But as Obama has said, the past is not in question this election. The true question – and the question that has permeated every speech Barack Obama has given is, “Will this country be better off four years from now?”
The road America will collectively choose Nov. 4 makes all the difference to the answer to that question, as we decide between the two futures, between the two roads diverged before us. One road converges back on the dark, crooked path that we are currently on, while the other road leads to a higher political discourse and toward rebuilding this country from the bottom up. And I hope we choose to follow the new road, the road toward the future that Barack Obama has paved.
Stephanie England is an English junior and a Mustang Daily politcal columnist.