Tim Rollins Photo courtesy of Beth Rollins

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States. As citizens, we have the obligation and responsibility to get out and vote our consciences in choosing wise and honorable men and women for elected offices, whether at the Presidential, Senate, Congressional, State or Local levels of government.

Election Day in the United States is always in November on the first Tuesday AFTER the first Monday. As such, the election will always fall between November 2nd and November 8th. All seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs every two years, and one-third of the seats in the Senate come up for election every two years as well. In addition, the race for President and Vice President occurs every four years where the last two digits of the year are divisible by four.

What makes this election more important than others is that regardless of the outcome, there will be a new President taking the oath of office on the steps of the Capitol in Washington January 20th. Given the power and strength of the United States in the international arena, this is an election that will be watched closely the world over. This is because it will affect world markets as well as how foreign powers will decide as to what direction they will either modify or fine-tune their relations with the United States.

Last week, the liberal oriented National Public Radio made a statement that surprised even me. That statement was that Clinton’s efforts in the Middle East to leave a legacy for himself had cost scores of lives on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides, and that Clinton’s handling of the situation had set back the Middle East peace process decades. That’s right, folks – NPR said decades, not years. It seems that Billy boy is determined to leave a legacy more notable than the stain on Monica Lewinsky’s dress and his contempt of court citation by Judge Susan Webber Wright that cost him $90,000 in fines.

As Americans, we have a chance to send a message to the world tomorrow as to what kind of a nation we are, and what we as a people stand for and represent to the world. Whomever we elect on Tuesday will be in a position to effect many lasting changes on America for the next 30 years and beyond. Three or maybe even four seats on the U.S. Supreme Court may become available and control of the House of Representatives may shift – although that is now seen as unlikely. The right person in power could help play a key role in the rebuilding of our military forces and combat readiness, thus ending the social experimentation of the last eight years – a period marked by our military seeing its best and brightest, most promising talent exit as fast as they could find the door.

There is something I want to set straight. The 1992 and 1996 presidential elections were a case of the lesser of two evils. To a certain extent, this one is pretty much the same thing. Clinton in 1992 and 1996 is self-explanatory in that he backed into office BOTH times with the majority of the American people voting AGAINST him (1992: Clinton – 43%; Bush – 38%; Perot – 19% and in 1996: Clinton – 49%; Dole – 45%; Perot – 6%). George (Papa) Bush reneged on his ‘no new taxes’ pledge in 1990 and that sealed his doom in 1992. Bob Dole lacked the passion, drive and vision to win in 1996 because he had no clearly outlined agenda. Ronald Reagan may have forgotten names along the way, but he never forgot his agenda or what the voters expected him to do, and they rewarded him with not only a second term, but he remains to this day as one of America’s most beloved presidents. As columnist Eric Margolis said (referring to Reagan), "his impending death will break America’s heart."

Tomorrow is an opportunity to make your voice heard with your vote – and if you don’t like any of the candidates because their views are not representative of yours, then consider being a candidate for office yourself. Honorable men and women will always be needed to effectively serve the interests of others who are not always able to take care of themselves.

So with tomorrow being Election Day, I would encourage everyone who is eligible to go out and vote for the candidate of his or her choice, for if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.

Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission