Primary Day Recap

I'm  not an intensely political person, so it is rather ironic that many of my first blogs would contain references to politics.  I have to say that this election excited me more than any election since I've been old enough to vote (except when the town where my university was located was voting to go from dry to wet, but that's a story for another blog.  And if you don't know what that means, it's probably something you'll enjoy reading!)

Even though I've complained about the annoyances that accompany the primary, I'll miss them.  No more planning my route to work around potential motorcades and debate locations.  No more counting how many pieces of political mail I get daily.  No more poll of the week phone calls during dinner.  No more political activists knocking on my door asking me if I have questions about their candidate.  No more five candidate commercials in a row during Extreme Makeover Home Edition.  Yes, life in NH will be much quieter now.  

But today I'm proud to be from NH, where yesterday we turned out in record numbers to vote.  When I went to my polling place yesterday, there was an excitement there that I don't remember seeing in past elections.  I saw several young girls who were in the line next to me, proudly announcing that it was their first time voting.  I saw senior citizens, business people in their suits, Mom's with kids coming along to see them vote (and since we participate in kid's vote, the kids had their own opportunity to cast a ballot.)  And people were happy!  

Today's news discusses why the turnout was so high.  True the weather was great (60 degrees, so we waded over melting snowbanks.)  But I think the reason is - for once, most of us -- democrat, republican, libertarian or independent -- actually felt like we had a choice of a candidate or two we liked.  I can say that in the last two elections I voted for the candidate I disliked the least, so actually having a choice of more than one candidate I like was a refreshing change.  Let's hope that whomever is eventually elected delivers on some of the hopes that I saw reflected in voters faces yesterday.