Politics 2000: A lesson in our time.
By
The first Tuesday of November of every four years in the United States, when every American of voting age and who is registered to vote will vote. First Tuesday in the Presidential election year is always a day to watch. The reason this particular day is of great importance is simply, the only time peoplecan actually exercise their right to fire or to retain the incumbent elected officer whose office is being contested. The Election Day in my view is the ultimate term limit day. There really is no better day to term limit the incumbent than when his or her office is up for election or reelection.
Forget about the lazy white American males who are opposed to the government being in peoples live, but are willing to trick the American electorate into supporting some kind of term limit for every elected officers. This is a cop out. The people do not need added law regarding term limit, the peoples have the power to term limit every elected officials on the Election Day. In fact they should do away with term limit in the presidential race. People who are clamoring for term limits in my view, are those who simply lack the skills and strategies to compete in an open and free election, they simply want the office to be offered to them. They may as well ask to be appointed for offices instead of hiding under the disguise of term limits.
My first introduction to the American politics came on that rainy 1st Tuesday, November 1980. I was in Binghamton, New York and I was barely 16 months old in the United States. The Moral Majority was at its peak of influence of public opinions in American politics. Rev. Jerry Falwell was the leader of the Moral Majority, Jerry Falwell was a Christian and a demagogue and he enjoyed both fame and popularity which at the time was quite unprecedented in America politics. Falwell was revered by some and despised by many others. The theme Moral Majority in itself is has a negative connotation that there is an Immoral Minority out there which had to be fished out before it corrupted the majority. Whatever Moral Majority meant to the electorate sub-consciously, it carried the day on that fateful Tuesday in November 1980. As we all know now Ronald Wilson Reagan went on to defeat President Jimmy Carter.
In the Year 2000, there were no Moral Majority, but there was the process still. The Americans again went to the poll. I
want to bring some attention
to three unique events which I found rather to be of great interest to me. The first one occurred in Virginia State. Senator Chuck Robb had just lost to his challenger
the former Virginia Governor George Allen. I was expecting to see a beaten down Chuck Robb as I watched the election returns in my hotel room in Pentagon City Virginia,
instead I saw a much relaxed Chuck Robb who came across to me as very satisfied with his efforts in his bid to win a reelection. The man exuded confidence
even when it was clear that he did not win a reelection to a third term as a Senator from Virginia. Mr. Robb walked in amidst a very upbeat music which may have
helped him to remain calm and obviously very composed as he met with his support who were gathered in a Virginia Hotel. Chuck Robb to me was a perfect gentleman and he
was definitely a class act. His upbeat demeanor was that of a satisfied warrior who gave it his all amidst a very negative campaign attack from his challenger. Senator
Robb went on to reassure the Senate elect of his willingness to assist with smooth transition and to be of help when needed.
The second one is the very gentleman in the state of Missouri who lost to the dead governor. Well, do dead men really talk and walk ? --- In Missouri the answer it seems to me is a resounding “YES”, where ,as we now know, the widow of the deceased Governor is on her way to becoming the new Senator from Missouri.
Now, the presidential election, this is the election which will keep people talking for years to come. It was quite
different from any election that I
have witnessed in the United States, beginning with Jimmy Carter against Ronald Reagan and now Al Gore against George Bush. It was an election, the likes of which I have
never seen before. On the one hand Al Gore won the popular votes and it seems like George Bush is in the process of winning the electoral college votes. This is of
course if George Bush is confirmed to be the winner in the State of Florida after the recount. It is very clear here that no candidate had a mandate, and who ever
emerges as the eventual winner will have a huge task ahead of him of bringing the Nation together. I give two thumbs up for Al Gore, the man has demonstrated enormous
restraint in the face of possible election foul up in Florida State. Al Gore worked extremely hard for all the votes that he earned. The whole world should be watching
how this event unfolds and possibly resolves itself. One thing is very clear, there will be no riots, and there will be no tanks rolling in to quash the citizens.
In the land of the braves, common sense still prevails.
Michael O. Folorunso