Senior Moments

America has spoken and Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States.

I will admit that he wasn’t my personal choice.  But he was America’s choice and so he will be my president.  As such he is entitled to my respect and to my support as president of my country.  That doesn’t mean that I will agree with him on everything he does — I may not agree with anything he does.  But I am a citizen of the United States and Barack Obama will be my president.

I hope President-Elect Obama will practice what he preached during much of the campaign and bring us together.  We are  very badly divided — there seems to be no ‘united’ in the United States!  I hope President Obama will be able to heal some of these divisions.

The campaign was long and hard-fought.  Now it’s time for us to come together.

By the time you read this, Election Day voting should be underway.  With the exception of a few last-minute events, the 2008 campaign has come to an end.  I can’t begin to tell you how delighted I am.

Reports say that this has been the longest and most expensive presidential campaign in American history.  As far as I’m concerned two years is entirely too long.  For me the main result of the long campaign was that I have less respect for both of the major party candidates than I had months ago.  I think they both spent entirely too much time tearing down each other.  Their ads were more misleading than enlightening.

Why should any campaign last two years?  If Canada can hold an election within six weeks of the start of the campaign, why can’t we?  Sure our population is larger, but is it really that much larger?

This election has cost approximately a billion dollars.  That’s over $300 for each American citizen.  Both candidates have said they have plans to stimulate the economy.  If I had received $300 the week before Election Day I promise I would have quickly spent it!!

The good news is that the 2008 presidential campaign is over.  I just hope the 2012 campaign doesn’t start tomorrow.