A Few Very Personal Final Notes About The Election

The results aside, which obviously made it unique for everyone in the United States, this presidential election was very different for me than any of the other 14 I have lived through.  Here's why.

First, for the first time in my life I lived in a battleround state.  As a result, I saw far more commercials, got more political mail, was called by pollsters more often, saw more signs and posters put up during the day and taken down at night, and was (repeatedly) robocalled. It was exhilarating and infuriating at the same time.  Thank god for caller ID.

Second, I was a pundit for this election.  I traveled to 31 states, over 70 cities (some repeatedly), and gave over 500 presentations.  I wasn't traveling for a candidate; I was giving a nonpartisan view of what was happening, mostly to financial types.

The travels gave me a new view of the United States: even though my audience was relatively homogeneous, it was hard not to notice the very real differences that exist from state to state .  I started my tour wondering, like most others, why Congress doesn't get more done.  I ended it marveling that, given the huge differences from region to region, state to state, and congressional district to congressional district, Congress manages to get anything done at all.

Third, I was astounded by the level of anger.  Obviously the economy isn't good and many people I spoke to had lost a great deal of money over the past year or so.  Others were angry that they hadn't had the opportunity to make more, or at least as much, as those around them.  Others were irate about the war either because it was still going on, or wasn't going well, or because others were opposed or supporting it.  Others were angry at George Bush, at Congress, at the media, at the movies being produced in Hollywood, etc.  Many were angry at me for not saying what they wanted to hear.

Finally, my feeling has always been that candidates are evaluated more by what they do after they declare their candidacy than by their record and that was proven and then some by this election.  We need to keep this in mind.  In most cases, we don't know before the election begins what the most important events of a campaign will be.  External shocks -- like stock market crashes, natural disasters, and foreign policy problems -- are likely to be more important than a candidate's voting record.  Similiary, debates are not just formalities and the candidate that does not pay enough attention to them deserves what she or he gets.