I worked an overnight last night and drove at 5:30am to the VFW here in Ballwin to cast my vote for President.  It is pretty obvious where my support lies, but it truly does not matter for the purposes of this diary.  The simple fact is that no matter who wins this election, the country is going to change.

As I watch the election coverage today, battling a case of insomnia, I am seeing things I’ve never seen before.  A black panther standing guard outside a polling station in Pennsylvania, supposedly intimidating voters.  Reports of advertisements in Virginia announcing that due to increased turn out they are asking Democrats to vote on Wednesday.  

McCain is speaking as I type, making his last bid to get those last few votes.  One thing that struck me during McCain’s speech was his claim that he owes this country more than he could ever repay.  That claim bothers me, because here is a guy that spent several years in a POW camp, being tortured, mistreated, and subject to the worst of living conditions all in the name of this country.  Here is a guy that this country owes not a single thing, believing that he still is indebted to do something more.  It is astonishing.  

On the other side is Obama, who I have yet to see speak today.  He is making history with every vote cast today.  Growing up the concept of a black president seemed as far fetched as me going to the moon.  The idea that we were not ready for a black president, or more so that black people were not ready, has been the overwhelming mindset since I was a child.  As I sit here watching the discussion on TV, (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, I’m flipping the stations not focused on one!) the reality is starting to set in that in just a few hours, a black man could be president.  It is astonishing.  

No matter which of these two win, this country will change.  The changes will not be equal.  On one hand, Alicia and I could end up looking at more costly healthcare options due to her heart problems.  With that candidate I see the economic issues we face become more long term than with the other candidate.  Also I see a prolonged involvement in a war that we were told years ago was over.  Even more, I see a sense of pride getting in the way of good decision making.  But at the same time, I see someone that is capable of making the necessary changes to put this country back on track.  I do not believe in the Bush Jr. accusations.  I think he is capable of doing a lot of good for this country, and even more so I think he truly believes that he has the answers.  He’s been around a long time, he’s seen trials and error and will be more prepared to make decisions because of that knowledge.  

On the other hand, the other candidate may bring us an improved healthcare system that if successful may put me out of a job or at least slow my promotion opportunities in retail pharmacy.  I see the economic issues being more short term, as well as boost in our countries global approval ratings.  I see more patience and humility, someone looking to choose the correct solution for the future of our country rather than the best solution for today.  I also see a host of new problems out of this new age Washington.  There will be more trial an error, riskier solutions, and a host of problems from the reliance on the American people to "do the right thing."  It will not be an overnight change.  Getting parents to shut off the TV and help with the homework is going to take a long term commitment that will only begin with this election.  It will take years to change this country wide attitude of "take what you can get" to one of investing in our own success.  

When I turned 16 my dad told me about an Escort GT we owned that he bought it in its first year of production.  It had a lot of problems, things that should have worked had to be fixed or replaced.  He told me that the problem with buying something when it is new was that there will always be kinks, things that need to be fixed that in an older model would never need replaced.  The problems at first slow progress, but as the kinks get worked out, you are left with a much better product and it is usually worth the wait.  Anyone remember the introduction of cell phones?  When they first came out they cost a lot of money and you could only use them if you lived in New York, LA, Chicago, or another major city where the service was available.  Now everyone benefits from cellular phones.   While I am confident in the short term viability of the change candidate, I cannot help but believe that this new model will have its own problems.  It will come with many set backs in the short term, not everything will work the way it was designed.  In the end, though, the new model will be better than the one we have today.

If the other candidate wins, we have the stability and reliability of a system that in the past has worked well.  We have been successful in the past, and can be successful again even with the same old political machine we are used to.  It’s not always the machine that is the problem, but the person operating it.  Not to be funny, but the best analogy here is the VCR clock.  It has always worked, but how many of us have heard our elderly grandparents or neighbors complain that it is broken because it always flashes 12 o’clock?  Right now, Bush is that neighbor, (he’s certainly not MY grandparent!) who can’t set the clock.  His family (Cheney) is nowhere around to help him set it, and he’s too stubborn to listen to those telling him how to set it.  Whether we get a new clock today or someone that knows how to set it, today is the day we get back on track.  We stop the flashing light that tells the whole world that we don’t know how to fix the simplest of things.  Today, we set the clock.  

Happy November 4th.