What Will Happen

The last weekend before the presidential election.

And there was a collective “THANK GOD” heard around the country.

Myself included. Our presidential elections have become nothing more than big money driven dueling campaigns of attacks, distortions…and lying.

In fact, you can tell which side is losing by the amount of lies being tossed out there. And in this case it is the Romney campaign throwing out such whoppers like Obama took Detroit into bankruptcy and forced Jeep to ship jobs to China.

Wrong. One both counts. But don’t take my word for. Ask the president of Chrysler/Jeep.

Anyway. Come this Tuesday, after the polls close, the electoral votes will be determined.

And Obama will be re-elected.

Not because I say so, or even wish so, but because the math will say so. Romney would have to do a serious and damn near impossible needle-thread of winning every toss-up state – Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Iowa and Nevada – to win the White House. And that’s not going to happen. Obama is up 5 points in Ohio, 8 in Wisconsin, and ahead in a few of the others of those seven battleground states. If Obama wins Ohio and Wisconsin, the election is over. Romney has to win all seven to even have a chance.

That is our electoral college. That is how we elect the president. Romney may actually win the popular vote, like Gore did in 2000, but it won’t matter.

Being a Democrat, I am not gloating. Truly. But I will admit I am relieved. I firmly believe a Romney presidency would be Dubya Redux. He has surrounded himself with the same power players GW Bush had around him – Rice, Senor, Bolton to name a few. And Romney is malleable enough to acquiesce to their wishes. It would be the Return of the Neocons.

But aside from my relief, here is what I truly wish will occur after Obama’s victory:

I hope everyone will realize he didn’t win due to Acorn or voter fraud.

I hope everyone will realize he didn’t win due to ‘Black Guilt’.

I hope the ridiculous right wing-nut talk about him not being an American citizen will end.

I hope everyone will realize he is not a Muslim.

These things I hope.

And these things, I doubt will occur.

Because there will always be a block of people that simply cannot accept that he is president, now a re-elected one. These are the ‘We Want Our Country Back’ people. The people that think 2008 was some kind of ‘give’ to the minority by allowing a black man to become president. The people that think someone ‘took’ their country from them.

These kinds of people are dangerous.

Why? Because they think the system only works if either their guy becomes president or their guy is white. There was, and there is, no conspiracy. Obama’s victory in 2008, and his impending one in 2012, is the result of our system working as designed. If you don’t like that design, then change it. But he wasn’t elected because he was black.

The reason I voted for him – twice – has nothing to do with skin color. It has to do with competence and results. He promised certain things he would do if elected…and then he did them – health care reform, ending the war in Iraq, ending don’t ask don’t tell.

Now, debate what he did or didn’t do all you want, then go vote for whoever based on those debates. Choose the person you want for president based on those kinds of factors. That is how it is supposed to be done. I don’t think Romney is a bad or evil man; I just don’t like his policies and I think he’s an empty suit who will be easily persuaded to do things by those he surrounds himself with, whereas I believe Obama is a far more principled man who will do what he says he will do. He has, and he will. That’s why I’m voting for him. All I ask is for each person to at least try to give your vote that level of analysis then pick the one you want. Avoid the lies and distortions.

But if your man loses, do not claim conspiracies.

Just accept that the majority has spoken, like it did in 2008.