It's Over. Obama Has Won. Don't Even Show Up At The Voting Booth. Or Is It Over?
Posted: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
by Marty RicKard
It's over. Obama has won. No need even to go to the voting booth on Election Day.
All the voter polls have declared Obama the winner, several newspapers have done likewise.
Obama has signaled his transition team to buy furniture for his White House residence. The victory party has been planned in Chicago and more than one million are expected.
My Gawd, what will CNN do to fill those hours on election night when we all know by 8 that Palin's moose-skin luggage is headed back to Alaska on Wednesday.
But is Obama actually a shoe-in?
Let me remind some of you a similar scenario. Let me recall for you the election of 1948.
The New York Times, Life Magazine and several other publications ran bold headlines and photographs introducing America to Thomas Dewey, the next President of the United States .
The Gallop and Roper polls said it was a cinch victory for Dewey. Not a chance Truman would win, they said.
Dewey had planned his victory party, the transition had begun.
But, lo and behold, something happened in those voting booths that night when Americans weighted the solid honesty of Truman against the liberal, uncertain change promised by Dewey.
Americans just couldn't bring themselves to pull the handle for the elite eastern candidate and chose instead to vote for the earthy, dependable man who had seen them to victory in World War II.
They knew Truman. He was one of them. They weren't sure about the flashy Dewey, who was a lot smoother, a better speaker and a much slicker politician than Truman ever would be.
Americans loved the photo of the victorious Harry Truman holding a copy of the Chicago Tribune which boldly declared: DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.
What Americans don't like is hubris. They don't like overbearing, arrogant politicians who plan victory parties before they have actually won. And they don't like newspapers and TV stations declaring winners until the votes are counted.
They don't like polls deciding issues for the people. They don't like ACORN registering dead voters and homeless who use a park bench as an address.
Here is the truth: This election is not over. The solid, proven war hero, who isn't as slick as the Harvard graduate, may well be more agreeable to the average American voter than the polls and liberal newspapers want you to believe.
When those voting booth curtains are drawn and the die is ready to be cast, Americans may well disregard all of the polls and arrogance and may see the light.
They may decide they like the fragrance of moose-skin better than they do the stench of Chicago .
This presumes that we can keep Mickey Mouse and all the dead people away from the voting booth.
Marty RicKard Bio
Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography, in addition to the Craftsman, CPP, and A-ASP degrees. Marty spent two years as a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He was co-owner of the weekly New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist for his article, which was syndicated in twenty Iowa newspapers. For more than a decade Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines and newspapers, including Writer's Digest, Writer Advice, Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He currently is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He is the author of two poetry books and one volume of short stories. He is an entertaining speaker.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Hi Marty, who is Dewey? Great reminder, it does bother me than the media has decided who I am going to vote for. Regardless of who wins, it is a sad commentary on our media to speak for millions of people. And thanks for bringing up the fraud issue. That is dispicable American behavior, so in the end, we just might get who we deserve.... God blessTeresa, I'll answer your question about Dewey and let Marty take care of the rest. Thomas Dewey was the Republican nominee for president in 1948. He ran against Democratic President Harry Truman. On election night, Dewey jumped out to an early lead, but was subsequently overtaken by Truman, who was the eventual winner. However, at least one newspaper released an early edition while Dewey was still leading that had the headline, "Dewey Defeats Truman." Truman was later photographed holding up a copy of that newspaper -- and smiling!
Marty, you said, "Obama has signaled his transition team to buy furniture for his White House residence. The victory party has been planned in Chicago and more than one million are expected."Where did you get this? From Fox News? From what I can see, Obama is being very cautious and is taking nothing for granted. And this is coming from someone who is not going to vote for him.Terry: Where have you been? How could you have missed these stories. Check the Chicago Tribune and just about any other major newspaper. Check the Associated Press and any other news organization. How anyone could miss these stories is beyond me. The AP is not a conservative organization. Mayor Daley, of Chicago, says there will be one million in attendance. Obama is cautious? My God. Your bias has blinded thee. Best to you, my friend. Marty RicKardOkay, Marty, so I'll admit I missed that one. Apparently, I had focused too much on his cautious statements in New Hampshire the other day about not taking anything for granted. However, I checked around and you are right. I think that is a big mistake on Obama's part. Maybe I missed it because I can't believe someone could be so stupid. Personally, I wouldn't do that even if the polls showed me leading 100% to zero. I have had too many things ripped away from me at the last minute to be presumptive about anything. If I were a football coach leading 72-0 in the fourth quarter, I would not allow my team to celebrate early for fear that the other team still might come back and win.But biased? I thought I said I wasn't voting for Obama. Looks like I'm not the only one who missed something. :-)Dear Terry: I apologize for erroneously accusing you of bias. Please forgive me, my friend. Marty RicKardNo problem.
hi marty,this was a well written, interesting article which will be even more interesting after the election :)i guess we all soon shall see,thanks for sharing,best regards,sue thom
Marty, I hope so, and am praying -- I, an optimist, truly believes "that it ain't over 'til it's over!" -- thanks for sharing this and hope you are well!
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