Today is November 3, 2004. Yesterday was November 2, 2004. Election Day. America was faced with one of the biggest decisions of our era. Who did you vote for? Bush or Kerry? The idiot or the liar? In all the polls leading up to yesterday’s events, the two candidates were neck and neck. The country was evenly split. Most of the older generations thought Bush was doing a good job, while the younger ones yearned for the change that Kerry was bound to bring. Knowing this, I didn’t watch the news last night. There was no way the election would be decided in one night. Instead, I did homework. Checking the Internet this morning, I discovered that I was correct. It wasn’t over. And it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon. I think I might move to New Zealand.
Stephanie Ray
I woke up on Tuesday morning at the usual time of eight-o-clock and got ready for another long day. As I got dressed and prepared to go to work, I remembered that it was Election Day and that at some point I had to go vote. I stepped outside and felt a cool rush of air hit me: As I warmed up my car, I sipped a cup of coffee that warmed by gut. For once, I was on time for work. As I stepped into the office, I could hear my boss talking about the election with Danny and Shaun. As we conversed about the day’s events, I rounded up the guys and we went off to vote. On our way we picked up more of our teammates and headed to the polls. When it was all said and done I had finally voted for the first time in my life. I felt good about myself; I had contributed to our nation in some small way.
David Preciado
It was around 9:15 when I turned on my television in my dorm room to view how the election began to turn out. In the past, I have never watched, but in the past I was ineligible to vote due to my age. This year, I voted. This year I went out to the polls to cast my vote and to let me voice be heard. And as I watched the many different news programs last night, and I saw as most of the country turned red I watched as my voice was silenced. It was a night that I will remember. I saw as many of the people I know came out and raised their hands up high in order to try and change what was happening to us and to this country. I saw as my state voted against Bush and was finally blue. But alas, when I awoke this morning I saw how the rest of the country was still red and I heard the newsman on television say that the Republicans have maintained control of the presidency and of the government. I turned off the TV and got ready for class.
Robby Partridge
Tuesday, November 2, 2004, was the official Election Day for President of the United States. The day remained fixed fast in my mind, not because I spent a lot of time studying or critically thinking about the politics of our nation and the world, but because for the past month or so I had been reminded at a constant rate that, “I can vote in New Hampshire as a student and temporary resident.” That if I do not vote, “I revoke my right to complain about our government system,” and “why didn’t you vote? It’s what makes this country such a strong democracy.” All right! All right! I’ll do my civic duty and whatever; get off my back about voting already!I registered the week before at a table in the HUB with the help of a man who seemed completely annoyed by my presence. Then, on Election Day, it was time to bite the bullet and take it to the polls. The day was glum and dreary to say the least. Having no car, many others and I took advantage of the van service that PSU had arranged to transport students to and from Plymouth Middle School. Sitting in the tan, Kerry/Edwards poster-clad van, I felt suffocated and smothered; the van was packed with students and the windows were fogged from hot breath. I felt the most relief when we all tumbled out through the side door. The air tasted fresh as walked to the middle school. Upon entered the building I made my way to the tables and they pointed me in the right direction. As an already registered voter (yes, for some reason I felt proud of this), and made my final decision with a deep breath and confident check of the box. It was done, completed, and it felt good.
Lindsay MacDonald
There were the people on the green of our campus, standing in the rain, asking each person that walked by if they had registered to vote. If you walked by more than once, I am sure that you were asked more than once if you were going to vote. People were energized, despite the nasty weather and gloom that hung over our town. As the day went on there were sounds that John Kerry was pulling away from the President. But like for years ago, it was not going to be so simple. As the clock rounded to twelve and moved into the next day, there was news that we should expect another four years of Mr. Bush and his cabinet of political friends. As the returns came back, there was an interesting feeling inside the house that I live in. It was a good depiction of the country as a whole, a couple Bush fans, a couple Kerry fans, and a bunch of guys that were standing in the middle. Everyone’s mood changed throughout the day, and the comments that they were saying were either becoming more prevalent or slowly becoming nonexistent. Nonetheless, for me this election was one that I will never forget. It was a true test of what the people in this country wanted. As it stands now, they like a guy who ran the country for the past four years and are going to give him a shot at another four.
Jeffery Dyer
With my absentee ballot sent in, I awoke to a chilly November morning, and stepped outside to face the world. The next day would be different, for I hoped we would have a President elect sitting in the White House. Biology tests and field hockey games were far from my mind as I anticipated the outcome of the election. It was like waiting for the fourth game of the World Series, now knowing if St. Louis had enough to take one game from the Red Sox. As the rain came down outside, I sipped my hot chocolate and flipped the television to watch the future of America unfold. I was nervous, even though there were still hours to go before the final votes were counted. This was the first year I was old enough to vote in the Presidential election, and I wanted to see my vote count. The polls showed that more people were anxious for this election and couldn’t get out to vote fast enough. But Senator John Kerry seemed calm and confident as he enjoyed his beer and lunch in Boston, and President George Bush was patiently awaiting the results with his family in the White House. America was the nervous one, casting their votes and returning home to watch democracy in action.
Heather Corrigan
Trying not to seem too lackadaisical, I rode to the polls in a bus filled with chiming Kerry supporters wearing stickers and grins the size of Tallahassee. A maiden of no more than twenty-three turned, flashing the ivory piano keys of ensured victory, and asked innocently who I was voting for. I rolled my eyes up her willowy frame with a languor that belied by inner apathy and explained that I was a straight ticket GOP, baby. My proclamation was stonewalled by a vicious phalanx of sighs and a subsequent valley of deepest silence. Her smile shifted to the minor keys for a moment before someone in the front asked what GOP meant. The Red Sox cap next to the willow frond explained that it meant I was a fascist. The van plugged along in awkward silence for several minutes – rain on windows – engine laboring on the steeper hills. I stood with them in line and soon very student in the arena knew via circuitous tatters of whispered conversations that I was in fact the Anti-Christ. No one offered me a donut when I left the polls. I walked back. The rain was cold.
David Commins