My Thoughts on the Election

First off, I haven't been really interested in politics in sometime. I have a tendency to get very worked up, stumble over my words, and just go 'round and 'round logically when I try to debate with someone. I'm not good at it. And the last time before this year that I engaged in political discussions was in 2004 with a very close friend who happened to be a Democrat. The conversation ended with this person yelling, "You're brainwashed!" at me. Since then, I've stayed away from it. I've been pretty apathetic politically.
Then last summer, I heard that Mitt Romney was running for Republican nominees. I thought to myself, There is no way I'm going to support him just because he's a Mormon. So I read his platform. I read McCain's and Ron Paul's. I realized, I support nearly everything on Romney's campaign 100%. I got politically active.
Over a year later, we are here on November 5, 2008, with Barack Obama as our president-elect. As I've watched the reactions of my friends of facebook (and I am really entertained by everyone's statuses, whomever they voted for) and that of McCain, I realized that I wanted to express my thoughts on it in more than the 2 lines allotted me by my status. I will divide this into 2 parts.

One: McCain/the Republican party
To be honest, I pretty much hated McCain in the primaries. I watched him misconstrue quotes from Romney and plot with Huckabee to destroy Romney in the primaries. I know what happened at the West Virginia caucus. I wanted to punch his face at the debate at the Reagan library. I almost cried when Romney gave his concession speech. Surely there could be no better concession speech than his. He put the good of the party before his own wants/interests and stepped down in the most gentlemanly manner I've ever seen. I know McCain pissed him off during the primaries. You could see the frustration in his eyes during the debates (and still he kept his composure while McCain smiled smugly at the camera). But he asked us Republicans to think of the good of the party (and ultimately the country) and come together. He refused to split our party the way Clinton/Obama did theirs (and how nasty that turned out to be). So I decided to give McCain a chance.
I don't agree with everything on McCain's campaign. He's against drilling in ANWR; I'm for it. But on more important and more moral issues, I agreed with him 100% or at least mostly. I was excited at first when he chose Palin (well, disappointed that it wasn't Romney, but she seemed better than Lieberman). He ran a good campaign until then. Then things started to go down hill. The race got just plain ugly. Both sides were flinging mud (and don't deny it). I lost my faith in McCain and his ability to win the election. McCain is not usually very eloquent and unfortunately the American people think that reflects good leadership and intelligence (which they don't necessarily). Obama is very, very eloquent. He's charismatic. He's handsome. McCain looks unhealthy from his years spent as a POW and he's kind of a gruff old man. And one more thing: he's a Republican, while Obama did a very good job of reaching out to the demographic that was more likely to agree with him: young adults.
To be honest, I almost didn't vote for McCain. On the eve of the election, I got a phone call from a very good Canadian friend presenting some very good arguments for Obama. Things that almost overrode my feelings on his disastrous economic plan, his even worse plan for health care, and his abominal feelings on Iraq. I literally could not sleep at all that night. When I woke up, I realized that Obama supports gay marriage and partial-birth abortion, both of which go horribly, horribly against my moral convictions. The next president will probably appoint 2 - 4 Supreme Court judges and Obama will most definitely appoint liberal judges. So I voted for McCain. The rest of the day, I felt great. I didn't know if McCain could really win (though some said it was possible...) but I felt great knowing I had voted my conscience. It's amazing what kind of relief that gives you. When Obama was proclaimed president-elect, I was mad. I was mad because I felt that McCain had blown the campaign. I felt he had stolen it from someone who truly could've beaten Obama--Mitt Romney. From someone who has the economic experience and prowess to get us out of this mess (on which we can place a large portion of the blame on the greedy and delusional American public, the rest goes to Freddi Mac, Fannie Mae, and the like). I was at the gym when the final results unfolded. I went home, pissed off at McCain. But then I watched McCain's speech. His speech certainly rivaled Romney's. It was classy and dignified as I thought I would never see him. I realized then what a good man he certainly is (not great, but definitely good). And I felt better.
The Republican party is broken. We've lost everything; presidency, Senate, and the House. In Washington, it seems to be nothing more than petty back-biters. We've lost all respect in the nation. And you know what, that's ok. Maybe it's good that we lost control. We've been forcefully humbled. We can now band together as a party to rebuild ourselves, to become the great party we once were. We can rise above pettiness and work for our convictions. We've got 4 years to get back in shape and I think that's plenty of time. I have not been proud of my party for sometime, but I hope that maybe when 2012 rolls around, I'll be able to be again.

Two: Obama
A little over a week ago, I was scared. I could see that Obama was going to win. His policies scared me. His power just as a candidate scared me. His eloquence and charisma scared me. The fact that the Democrats were most likely going to have control over both the Senate and the House scared me. I was genuinely afraid for the next four years.
Then last Monday, I stayed home from work because I was not feeling well. Not one to enjoy sitting around doing nothing, I cleaned my house all day. While I did, I thought. And I prayed. I asked the Lord to either help me get rid of this fear (because fear is never a good thing to hold on to) or to help Obama lose. By the end of the day, the fear was gone. I still felt like Obama was going to win, but I realized that at most he'll be in the presidency for 8 years. And while that's still a long time, our leader is only a president, thankfully not a king, and can only wreak some havoc (without breaking the law and trying to become more than a president) and can't really destroy our country completely. Well that's not so bad, I thought.
Then, as I've mentioned before, came my dilemma the eve of the election. But I went into my voting booth and voted my conscience. I felt a hundred times better. However, the fear had returned. All day I checked the news to see any developments. And last night I kept the live coverage streaming on our computer while I made dinner. Finally, Kurt turned it off, pointing out that I don't do well watching something I'm emotionally vested in unfold (you should see me during the BYU/U of U game). We watched tv on hulu.com instead. Then we went to the gym, which thankfully only had espn on in the weights area. When we left, though, I got a glimpse of the results on the tvs in the cardio area. Obama was projected the winner. I'll be honest, I said loudly that he was going to destroy the country. I told the girl at the desk that I did not want him to win. We went home. I had a knot in my stomach. Then I watched McCain's concession speech. I realized, if McCain can take it like a gentleman and support Obama, then surely I can. Surely anyone can. It was Romney's speech all over again; unity is more important than anything. McCain realized that. He realized that the election was over and it was time to starting being one as a country again. I fully believe in everything he said last night. (And slightly unrelated, but his comment that the failure was his and not his followers'... wow... I mean, what an amazing and humble thing to say).
I did not want Obama to win. I still wish things were different. But the fact is that Obama will be our president after January next year. I do not agree with him on most of the issues. But I respect him because he is our future president. When Cheney came to BYU to give a speech at graduation and people were mad and protesting, I thought, people, he's not here because he's Dick Cheney, who gives a rip about Dick Cheney, he's here because he's the Vice President of the USA, the second highest office in our country, one that deserves respect no matter who the holder is. The same goes for the President. I firmly believe that all of the strife and the great rift in our country today is all because of the anti-Bush-ites, who put their pride concerns above that of the country. Republican, Democrat, or other, we need to work together to come together as a nation! We need to support Obama as he goes forward to lead this nation. Does that mean we need to sit blandly on the sidelines if he does things that we disagree with? Of course not. We still need to keep our backbone and our convictions. But if we disagree, we should do so in a respectful and dignified way, not malicious and petty. Republicans, this is a chance to show the rest of the country how classy we can be! Humility is unfortunately not something that is looked upon highly in this country, but the next time you want to bash on the president (no matter who he or she is and no matter who you are) think of Mitt Romney's and McCain's speeches this year and try to find a better way--one that is more fitting of an American--to do it.