Some last observations about the last election

Well, it is finally over. The majority has spoken. The winners are basking in their victory and the losers are making plans for another day. As I watched CNN and MSNBC on election night I was taken by several of the pundits and their honest observations concerning this particular election. I apologize for not getting the exact quote or the pundit’s name making the observation, but here is some of what I think I heard:

Ø “It is a lot easier to offer up sound-bites than it is to actually govern.”
Ø “In all my years of covering elections I cannot remember ever seeing such a large group of individuals so ill prepared to take political office than those elected tonight.”
Ø “D.C. changes men and women once they arrive to take office. You get elected with a sense of idealism, but then reality hits and the temptations of power takes hold. You don’t change the office it changes you.”
Ø “This might be a good thing for our president. It will force him to move to the middle. Extremes on the left or on the right never work well or for very long.”
Ø “It would be wise for those just elected to learn the lesson of the last two years. They have to deliver on their promises or they will be soon be voted out of office.”
Ø “Anger might have caused people to vote, but anger will not give the elected the support they will so desperately need to bring about the changes they have promised.”
Ø “We have now officially entered into the political age of flipping our states and seats of political power. No one can rest easy from here on out.”
Ø “Compromise has got to be the mantra of those just elected.”
Ø “Idealism of position while on the mountain will not live long once they return to the valley.”

Well, I thought it was over until I heard that strategy sessions were held on Wednesday morning for the 2012 elections. The 24/7 news cycle has created a 24/7 political cycle or, is it the other way around?

One last observation – the majority has spoken and we will have new people sitting in the place of authority. Though our candidates might have lost the election and we are wondering “What were the people thinking when they voted for him/her” nevertheless they are now our governors, senators and representatives. They are due our respect that those offices to which they have been elected deserve. We might not respect the individuals elected, but we should respect the office to which they have been elected.

This is the glory that is America. There were no riots because one candidate won and another didn’t. There were not government shutdowns because of the outcome of the election. There were not media blackouts. There were no long discussions as our elected officials tried to work out backroom deals in order to form a new government. The genius of America has been proven one more time that, though the negative ads this year were the worse ever and the insane amount of 3.9 billion dollars was spent on “getting the messages out,” nevertheless we all went to the polls, made our choice and those with the majority of votes got elected. There was no election fraud nor did military loyalists threaten anyone if they voted for a particular political candidate. Our system works! For that we must be proud and thankful … and if our candidates lost then remember that in 2 years we get to do this all over again.

Quote for today: Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future. ~ Denis Waitley