I love it, and sometimes I loathe in, but never do I forget how blessed I am to be part of it.  I am speaking of course, of the democratic process of electing our public officials.  Based on Census 2000 results, there were 217.8 million people in the voting age population. In the 2000 presidential election, only 111 million people voted. We’ll need to do better than that this time.

Making the decision about who will head the third most populated country in the world, can be frustrating, confusing, and complicated by mixed messages. Still, because of the hardships and sacrifices of our founding mothers and fathers, we have the opportunity – and I would go as far as to say the duty, to partake in the process of choosing and electing those illustrious people to whom we will grant the authority to make decisions on behalf of every person residing in the United States – which as of this morning, was approximately 305,031,261 individuals.  We’ll expect our lawmakers to establish the parameters for all those who wish to visit and do business here in the US as well. 

When the chosen are sworn into office, we’ll put our faith and trust in them to rise to the occasion, whatever that occasion may be, and to do their jobs with strength as well as grace. Ultimately, we’ll need our leaders to earn our approval and to live up to the pride of America. 

But until the choice is confirmed, our presidential election will be the mother of all shows, and much of what we see in the media is presented in order to entertain. There’s a lot of pageantry and boasting, accusations and innuendo, the unveiling of secrets and surprises, some theatrical twisting of information, and certainly drama. Our emotions will vacillate wildly, and heated arguments may ensue among formerly peace-loving friends.  

Is our country headed to the extreme right, or are we swinging precariously to the left? Who is staking out the middle ground? Can we pay for the current wars, ramp up our military might, ensure national security, provide healthcare and a viable education without more taxes, and if not, who’s going to pay for it all? Is the richest 5 percent of the population going to be charged with fixing everything?

Ohmygod, everybody has a different answer, or at least a different argument.  Such heated discussions are not only occurring among friends and colleagues, but in peace-loving families too; we’ve been having them for months now. Though some of us have made a definite decision regarding our Presidential choice, we’re still very much engaged in the fact-finding process. We’re fishing for answers and hunting for facts, and those facts seem to be changing all the time.

With McCain choosing a female running mate in Sarah Palin, he has selected a woman who has little if any international experience, but can be congratulated, at the very least, for her grit and verve; I’m sure the conservatives are having a field day.  She eats Caribou, has five kids, owns a gun and likes to hunt and fish. Hmmm, she sounds gutsy, and perhaps McCain is hoping to attract some of the women who previously backed gutsy Senator Clinton.  Though I’m obviously biased, I wouldn’t bet on it.

The Republicans have branded their new Vice Presidential candidate as a Maverick -- like their Presidential candidate, John McCain, she shoots from the hip.  I personally am worried about the possibility of having two gunslingers in one office; such a combo could have messy results.

But if being a maverick is laudable, our Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama deserves his share of praise as well.  Senator Obama has proved to be a formidable communicator and in his own maverick way has managed to inspire the youth of America to get engaged in this election.  He has charged onto the scene as a relative newcomer, a man of mixed racial backgrounds which by itself shows that he comes from spunky genes.  He was born in 1961, the product of an interracial marriage, which at that time in the US was still slightly out-of-the-box behavior; the banning of interracial marriage wasn’t fully eliminated until the last anti-miscegenation laws were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1967. 

Whether we chose Obama and Biden or McCain and Palin, either team will need to be able to see beyond their own life schemas and open their minds to the needs of a worldwide population of over six billion, because we are part of a global economy, and we are affected as the world turns.  They’ll need to learn how to put some of their own narrow-minded opinions aside, and chose a course of action that benefits every citizen in this country – not just the special interest clubs i.e., Republicans or Democrats, they may belong to.

On with the show.