An election for the history books

Yesterday's elections were historic and I am so glad to have been a part of it. All day, I spoke to coworkers and clients on the phone, and everyone had a buzz of excitement in their voice. I have clients in Florida, and they all made sure to go out and vote, knowing that their state would play a big part in the elections. All day, everyone talked about the importance of voting (no matter who they were backing) and I am amazed how polite everyone was to each other (even opposing Prop 8 sign holders on the same street corner). I also think this has forever changed how campaigns are handled. I truly hope the young voters of today become the well-informed, active voters of tomorrow. If they can teach their children in the years to come that their vote counts, democracy will thrive and grow.

Last night we went out to watch the election results. We started the night at Pizza Port, our first time there, and had some great grub an grog. We then headed to the Village Pub, where the final results came in and we saw McCain's speech, and listened to Obama's on the drive home. I must say, the Village Pub had about 10 people in it, and I couldn't think of a better place to end the night. I really like that bar. They had John Stewart (with the volume turned up) on one TV, and CNN on the other TV. I thought it was funny when the final projections came in, that someone said "turn it to Fox news, let's see if they are saying the same thing!". Of course they were, and we all knew the election was over. And personally, I thank God it's over - this has seemed to be the longest 21 months ever, and I'll be glad to stop hearing the Countdown to Election '08 now.

On a sad note - it appears that Prop 8 has passed, installing a ban on gay marriage in CA. I am very surprised with this outcome. I truly believe that this has passed because of homophobic ideas and a lack of understanding that marriage does provide legal rights that everyone should be entitled to. If you can't have a legal marriage, then you can't have a legal divorce. All gay couples do not choose to have civil unions, or the equivalent of pre-nups when they decide to move in together - and if straight couples don't have to think about these things in their relationships (they can just get married), why should gay couples have that extra burden put on them? In the back of my mind, I hope that some of these YES to Prop 8ers end up with gay children, and in the future realize what they have done today.