The Hof-ington Post

[Warning: what follows is a rare post on a serious topic. It's been a month since the election, and based on my track record on this blog, that means it's time for me to get around to commenting on it. Proceed at your own risk. I'm an intelligent person, but I'm not generally interested in politics, policy, economics, etc.; I readily admit that I get about 90% of my non-sports news from Comedy Central. I'm generally smart enough to separate the facts from the Stewart/Colbert hyperbole, but I'd be lying if I said those shows haven't influenced my opinions. Therefore, it will not bother me at all if you don't share my political viewpoint. Also, if any of my opinions are based on ignorance or a misunderstanding of the truth, please correct me in the comments. I'm just going to start typing; I don't really know yet what I'll end up saying or how long it will be. I do know, however, that I won't be discussing Prop 8 on my blog. I have conflicted feelings about the issue as a whole, the church's involvement in it, and the post-election protests, and don't wish to get into them here. I will, however, recommend the talk given by Elder Hales at the most recent General Conference to any LDS members wondering how they should respond to those who are angry with them because of their beliefs. Anyway, here we go.]

Voting in Harlem was an unusual experience. My polling station was at a church less than a block from my apartment, and I headed there at about 9:00, figuring that those who went to cast their votes before work would be gone, and I wouldn't have to wait in line long.

I was wrong. The line stretched outside the door for about a block, and once I got inside the building things were pretty chaotic. It seemed that everyone in the neighborhood was so excited to vote (for Obama) this year, that they wanted to do it as soon as they could (I talked to many people who voted at night and were in and out in less than five minutes). The volunteers were not prepared for the turnout, and the line stalled. I ended up waiting for over two hours before I finally pulled back the curtain and entered the voting booth.

As I looked over the names on the ancient device (we had those old-school voting machines with the big levers and such, like a giant vintage cash register), I realized why I had struggled to find information on any of the local races: virtually every judge, councilman, and sanitation commissioner was running unopposed, or if there were four names it was in a category that said "choose four." (In that particular race, two of the names were listed as both Republicans and Democrats. Not sure how that works.) I quickly made my selections and pulled the lever. Although my polling place disappointingly had no "I Voted" stickers, I had in fact voted, which is yet another way in which I'm better than Tim Robbins.

That night, I gathered with some friends for a bachelor party of sorts (yes, Mormon bachelor parties are exactly as dull as you'd expect, although there's nothing wrong with hanging out with the guys and eating pizza), and we watched the election results. Once the networks started calling the election for Obama, the neighborhood erupted. People began honking horns, screaming, banging pots and pans...it was like New Year's Day. The big party in the area was at the government building just three blocks from where I was. Most of our group went to join in the revelry, even though nearly all of them voted for McCain.

Even though I voted for Obama, I decided not to join the party, but still passed many exuberant people on my short trip home. I logged onto Facebook and was stunned by the status updates of my friends. Words and phrases like "socialist," "take my money," "Americans are morons," "this is a sad day," and "building a bomb shelter" abounded. I was stunned.

A month has now passed, and unsurprisingly, the extreme feelings of both joy and alarm expressed on Election Night seem to have been tempered. Time has a way of doing that. But I felt even back on November 4 that both types of overly emotional responses were unwarranted.

I have a feeling that many of those who are excited about the change Obama has promised to bring may be disappointed when they see what actually happens. Whether it's because of opposition from political opponents, their desire to achieve high approval ratings or get reelected, or even just that they realize that they are a representative for the entire nation and not just the people that voted for them, it seems to me that presidents always wind up being more centrist than they claimed to be during their campaigns. Compromises will inevitably have to be made, and it seems impossible that Obama will be able to achieve all of the goals he set forth prior to the election (we are now officially into the area where you can feel free to point out my ignorance or naivete).

If I'm right, and "business as usual" prevails in a general sense under President Obama, I don't view that as a bad thing. Life is generally good for most Americans, and although some things are less than desirable right now, that's the way things go. It's cyclical. The economy isn't great right now, but it will get better. And it would eventually improve whether Obama, Bush or McCain was president, although different policies espoused by different people will influence the speed and the degree of improvement.

If those who view Obama as a deity of sorts are setting themselves up for disappointment, I still feel that those who view his election as the end of the world are even more off base. In the weeks leading up to the election and in the first few days afterwards, the things I heard or read some people say made it seem like Obama was pledging to surrender the country to Russia if he won. Even if they don't agree with him, it seems ludicrous that anyone would believe he doesn't like America or want to make positive differences for Americans.

I heard a lot of people say, "we don't know anything about him." Um, seriously? I wasn't paying very close attention, and even I know that he plays basketball, he has two kids, he went to Columbia, he smokes, he used to go by "Barry," and a bunch of other facts about him, not tot mention everything I know about his political stances. I guess people can choose not to believe these things, but if that's the case I don't know how they expect to find out what Obama is like.

A lot of people labelled Obama as a socialist, always in a negative way. It's ironic to me that so many Mormons view socialism as such an evil thing, even though the people of Enoch and the people in 4 Nephi lived a form of socialism and were the two most successful, righteous, and happy societies in scriptural history. Plus, other than the threat of higher taxes, what about Obama's policies and promises makes him a socialist, or at least more of a socialist than other mainstream candidates (again, I'm not as informed a voter as many, so please enlighten me if there's major socialist stuff I'm unaware of)?

Our country and government has been socialistic in at least some aspects for a long time, and thank goodness for that. I don't know what I would be doing right now or where I would be living if I hadn't received Medicaid assistance after my gall bladder surgery. I'll admit that I felt slightly ashamed at not being able to pay my own bills, but I was incapable of doing so, and I'm very grateful for the assistance I've received. If Obama's plans will result in more people getting the health care they need, then I support them, and if that makes me a socialist, so be it.

I believe in the principles of capitalism (entrepreneurship, working for a living, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, etc.), but I believe in the principle of charity even more. Before I came to New York, I don't think I had a very good conception of what life was like for people (especially kids) in low-income areas. Most of the kids in Harlem come into the world at such a huge disadvantage that they would have virtually no chance of succeeding in a strictly capitalistic society. Some "redistribution of wealth" is necessary to give these kids a fair chance. I'm willing to pay higher taxes if that's what it takes to help these people. This, more than anything else, is why I voted for Obama: because he and his party seem to me to be more sincere about and committed to helping those who are less fortunate than themselves.

The other big reason why I voted for a Democrat for the first time relates to my overall view of the position of President. To me, the president's most important job involves public relations. The president is the government's ultimate ambassador, it's public face. When things are going good, he should tell us that. When things are bad, tell us, and then explain what will be done to correct the problem. If something is bad because government screwed up, accept responsibility, apologize, and fix it. I feel most people don't expect perfection from their elected leaders, but they expect honesty. It perhaps was unfair to McCain, but I felt since about the beginning of the primaries that I could not in good conscience vote for the Republican candidate, no matter who it was, because of what I viewed as a high level of dishonesty and disrespect shown to the public by the president, his cabinet and their appointed spokespersons over the last few years. The Bush administration's approach to PR has been atrocious.

I would love to have a Hollywood president like David Palmer from 24 or Dave from Dave, someone who exudes strength and confidence, someone who seems intelligent and optimistic when they speak. As I said above, even when some things are bad, in America things are generally good. I want a president who speaks and acts in a way that helps people to feel good, to have a general feeling of happiness and contentment. Obama, while clearly no Dennis Haysbert, seems to fit that bill pretty well.

Basically, I knew that my day-to-day life wouldn't change much regardless of which candidate won, but I voted for Obama because I feel his policies and beliefs are at their core more compassionate than McCain's, and because I feel that when Obama speaks to me and to the rest of the country he tells the truth and will continue to do so. Simplistic as they may be, that's how it is. And now I can go back to my usual mode, where I don't worry much about any of these things, at least for a few more years.