Four More Years of Forward

I've heard child-like temper tantrums claiming that President Obama has let down his supporters and the nation as a whole for years now. While I openly label myself as a huge Obama fan, I'll admit that I'm not quite as in love with him as I was in 2008. I view the presidency in the same light as any other relationship: everything seems perfect in the beginning. It's all romance and unrealistic promises that seem like the answer to all of your problems at the time. You spend the honeymoon period wearing love goggles and viewing your partner (in this case the president) as the embodiment of perfection. You're blind to the reality of the situation. As time passes the disillusionment begins. You begin to lose the excitement and promise that was initially felt. It may begin to appear that the relationship is doomed, but it's truly not as bad as it seems.

After staying up through the wee hours of the morning to watch the election results, I've concluded that that's exactly what our nation was experiencing. The only other possible explanation is that over half of our nation hated Mittens so much that they decided to vote for someone they hated just a little bit less.

Republicans will maintain control of The House, but the rest of the results look mighty blue. Even the popular vote went to President Obama despite his sour reviews.

As someone who has always had an interest in politics and missed the age limit for the 2008 election by about eight months, I can't even begin to explain how excited I was to vote in my very first presidential election. I came very close to casting my absentee ballot and making my vote count in Rhode Island before realizing that I live in a swing state nine out of twelve months. It quickly became evident to me that my vote would make more of a difference in New Hampshire, and that got me even more excited to rock the vote. What really blew me away was how easy they made it for people to vote. It couldn't possibly have been any more foolproof, and yet, there are still a great number of people who didn't bother to vote! In 2008, roughly 122,394,724 people voted. That number dropped to 120,223,236 this year, though.

Has the complacency of the United States gotten so extreme that interest in our laws and leaders is dwindling? Are we so apathetic that one of our few civic responsibilities is too much to ask for even though it's easier now than it ever has been before?

Regardless of the disappointment I feel in those who chose not to vote, I'm proud to have Baracked the vote in my first ever presidential election. I'm overjoyed that my fellow citizens who did vote made what I believe to be the right decision. Well done, America!

"Tonight in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up. We have fought our way back. We know in our hearts that for the Unites States of America, the best is yet to come."

-President Barack Obama