Thursday, October 23, 2008

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Early Bird Special.

You would think that after the hanging Chad debacle eight years ago, the debacle that cost Al Gore the election and subsequently led to two wars, one of which was clearly unnecessary, rampant anti-Americanism throughout the world, the complete mishandling of a natural disaster, and the cherry on top, a failed economy, the debacle that even resulted in an HBO movie starring an Oscar-winning actor, Florida would've made an effort to get it right this time around. I mean, they've had EIGHT years. Casting a ballot is an act that should be made as easily as possible, something that a fifth grader, or even Sarah Palin, could do. So far, it's been characterized by day-long lines, broken machines, and a general loss of enthusiasm toward the American democratic system.

This sort of dysfunctionality discourages people from voting at all, and we can't afford to have otherwise eager voters stay at home this time around. The stakes are too high--the currents of potential disaster too strong (see Sarah Palin above), and we need all hands on board. Given the poll numbers, as well as a recent study showing that in battleground states more Democrats than Republicans vote early, I have faith that most these hands will be pushing the button for Obama. I'm also confident that by 2012, Florida still won't have gotten it right.