Election Day 2008

Hey boys, you were a part of history this week! You accompanied me to vote for the 44th President of the United States, who happens to be the first African-American President of this country. You don't know it yet, but that is pretty cool.

I'm not a fan of the two-party system, in which Democrats and Republicans feel entitled to our votes, yet serve the interests of corporations and special interests, without whose money their campaigns would not get off the ground. My desire to extricate the corporate interests from our governmental system has led me to follow a candidate, for many years now, who clearly shares this priority. You may remember seeing him on Meet the Press.

However, this election year I took a risk and followed someone else who, in the end, earned my vote. Although I still hope that points of view that develop apart from a party platform will eventually be welcomed and honored in the political realm, I was convinced that this year's Democratic candidate has a chance at making some meaningful change from within his party and from within our government. He actually said many things that reflected my viewpoint precicely and he appears to be a worldly man of integrity.

In the end, politics is politics and politicians are politicians, but it feels pretty good to hope again. And hope means something different to me this time. All I can think about is the two of you and the fact that in a mere 16 years, you will be starting out on your own. I'm going to do my best to make sure the world you inherit is as safe, secure, healthy, tolerant, and free as it can be.

No matter how this pans out, it is a remarkable day when this country can overcome a history of racism to elect it's first black President. I'm glad you were here.