November 4, 2008

On Friday, August 29, I attended an orientation session for my counseling program. As I was walking through Colonial Williamsburg on my way back to my car, I passed an African-American gentleman, well-advanced in years. I smiled and said hello. He responded, "Hi Missy. Come over here a minute."

I moved closer. "Did you watch the convention last night?" he asked me.

Did I watch the convention last night? Are you kidding me? I watched about 5 minutes of Obama's rhetoric and couldn't stand it and turned the TV off. But, realizing who I was talking to, I kept those thoughts to myself.

"Actually, I had to miss it."

"Oh, well, it was a very nice message."

"Yes, Sir. I'm sure it was."

Awkward silence for a few seconds. I wonder if I should say I'm voting for Obama just to make his day, but I can't make myself do it.

"Well, then I guess you don't know what Johnny McCain did this morning then, do you?"

Now I've decided this is the cutest old man ever. Johnny McCain? Really?

“No. What did he do?”

“He picked that governor from…what is that place? Alaska. Yeah, the governor of Alaska.”

Now I’m racking my brain. Who is the governor of Alaska? Surely I would have at least heard of the governor of Alaska…What in the world is he thinking?

“That’s very interesting,” I heard myself say.

“Yes. It sure is.” He paused. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

This is supposed to mean something? Oh, why did I choose to ignore politics the past several months? “No, what does it mean?”

The man leaned in as if he were sharing a secret that could ruin everything if the world were to know. ‘It means that come November, one of us will finally move up in this world.” He then started laughing. “So, good luck.”

I smiled and walked away, moving much more quickly now because I wanted to get home and turn on FoxNews and find out what this was all about.

Sarah Palin. That’s what it was about.

I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t all that thrilled the moment it became clear that John McCain (or “Johnny” according to my new friend or “J-Mac” according to Whoopi Goldberg – that one is my favorite) was going to be the Republican nominee. Who I preferred doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s not that I don’t respect and admire what this man has done for this country – he is a national hero. I just wish he had a different position on some “moral” issues that I consider extremely important….

Recap: was not in love with John McCain. Wished there was a better candidate. Wondered if any Republican even had a remote chance of being successful against Barack Obama (for an interesting read, click here). Side Note: I’m typing this in Word and I think we should elect the man whose name does not get underlined in red, indicating a spelling error. I’ll leave you to decide which one that is.

Enter Sarah Palin. I didn’t know anything about her until a week and a half ago, and, after reading a lot and watching WAY too much news coverage of the convention, all I have to say is wow. I don’t want to get into too many details, but I loved what Albert Mohler had to say about the Palin family a few months ago.

You know what’s strange? I’m starting to realize that I actually like John McCain, too. He is the epitome of what a “public servant” should be. He’s spent his life looking after what he believes are our nation’s best interests, and this has often come at a cost. The honor of being President of the United States should never be handed out as a Lifetime Achievement Award, but if one were ever deserving of such, it’s J-Mac (sorry, I couldn’t resist). When he gives a speech, the message I hear is, “I want to do whatever it takes to make this country better, even if I don’t win.” It’s a beautiful sound, compared to the more popular, “Vote for me because I want to be President because I am awesome and a lot of my friends agree. And if you don’t think I’m awesome, I have two things to say: (1) you’re wrong, and (2) you should still vote for me because if I lose I might pitch a fit.”

I find myself excited about politics again. Well, maybe not politics. I’m still pretty jaded. But I’m excited about this election, and about America. I can now proudly and enthusiastically say that I am voting for McCain-Palin on November 4.