I’ve just been to a polling place here in DC to watch people cast their ballots. The lines are more manageable now than they were early in the morning when people were queuing for an hour-and-a-half to vote, despite the fact that Obama will win the District with 90 percent plus of the vote.
There is something inspiring about watching people vote. One woman said to me, about the lines she faced this morning, that it was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. Not to sound all gooey, but we take for granted that every adult has a right to vote and that power will transfer peacefully. It is all too easy to forget what achievements these are.
The wonderful thing about election day is that for a few hours the opinion polls and the pundits are irrelevant and everyone has to await the verdict of the people. Whoever America elects – and I think it is pretty certain to be Obama – this has been a campaign that has demonstrated that America is the most vibrant democracy on earth, with an unrivalled capacity for self-correction. Both major party nominees are a credit to their country and both deserve praise for a campaign that has largely stayed out of the gutter. We can, and should, take inspiration from both of them. But above all we should be inspired by the democratic process and the striving for a more perfect union.
Comments