Obama: Thoughts on the Election, Bandwagoners, and General Apathy

I don't think I ever really fathomed how upset I'd be if Obama won. I think I really only ever chalked up his campaign for president as an amplified book tour. Not that I didn't take him seriously - it's just his campaign felt like a book tour - fueled by Clintonesque baby-kissing charm and general something-up-my-sleeve shadiness.

So he won, and I couldn't help but watch in shock. One moment they don't even seem to have nearly an appropriate amount of votes counted, then all of the sudden an announcement erupts that Obama won. It was just too fast. I wasn't ready to take in that much information. So yeah, shock.

After that, I skipped denial (I mean, how can you deny what you see on the complicated touchscreen election maps? you can't), and just became angry. I became angry that Obama was elected president. Is that okay? I just had to get it out there. I had to say it. I just don't trust him.

What is this change he speaks of? All Obama is doing is filling in blanks. All the things that George Bush wasn't, Obama promises to be. Must have taken a lot of smart people to figure that strategy out! He basically captured the heart of a lot of Americans that really didn't know what to do, so they jumped on the fun, celebrity/media/rockstar-endorsed political bandwagon. He is young, McCain is old; he is a democrat, McCain is from Bush's party.

It's not rocket science, it's the perfect storm, and McCain to many was, I guess, just "more of the same." Well, if experience and a solid leadership capabilities are more of the same, then you must not have really been paying attention to what George Bush was up to. We're people just jumping on that bandwagon too?

Tonight, Americans, well, I should say more specifically, 538 Americans, voted. 338 Americans voted in favor of this generic Obaman concept of "change." Personally, the only change I see on the horizon is a slippery slope to socialism and a gruesome pro-choice bill to be passed.

It just sucked watching Obama's speech and seeing so many people looking into his eyes like he was the Messiah or something. So many people stood there with tears in their eyes, listening to a man deliever empty words, trusting that his student-governmentish, "I promise to put new vending machines in the cafeteria" promises would come true, and believing that his literal promises fell somewhere on the path to freedom. It just made me sad.

That's all. I hope I didn't imply to any of my friends that may have voted for Obama, whom I love and respect, that I think they are unintelligent or crazy. The ones I've talked to have their reasons, and though we differ, at least we have educated ourselves and know why we voted the way we did. I'm just fired up, because my personal belief is the wrong man was chosen for the job.

If you didn't vote, man, was there ever a time to vote! Even if it was for the person I didn't want to win, it's still an important duty. Troy had an interesting notion that they should test people before they are allowed to vote regarding the policies of all candidates. Interesting concept, yet probably ultimately unfeasible.

I think it's maddening that America is so uninformed when it comes to voting. Just look at, for example, the county props for spending and the delegates that you had no idea would be on the ballot. The whole system is messed up. Neither side promotes equal distribution of knowledge. Both Republicans and Democrats do an amazing job of skewing most truth and just doing whatever it takes to win.

How bout giving us all the facts and letting us make an educated political decision? If you are going to accuse the other candidate(s) of voting for horrible bills, you owe us context. You owe the American people the big picture. What other bills were paperclipped to it?

I often feel like this country is drunk at it's wheel and I'm wondering who's going to sober up and take hold of it. Solution to the literal need is important - like finding the right president, and not just settling for a choice between the two guys in Senate with the most money; but just as equally important is the solution to the bigger picture problem - like who the heck is going to start the seemingly impossible revolution to start changing the system?

Will it be you? Or are we just going to keep chanting "yes we can" back to Obama and hope our country finds its way back to the morals and principles it was founded upon?