What Will We Remember on Nov. 4th, 2009?

I wonder, as I read through blogs and newspapers and watch cable t.v. and Sunday morning news talk shows, what will really register as important, after all is said and done, and this election is finally in our collective rear view mirror. What do you remember about the 2000 Presidential election, other than it was stolen? If you're like most Americans, you probably remember the guy with his glasses off, staring intently at the "hanging chad", trying to determine its intent. Do you remember much more than that? Sure there are fleeting images of Gore giving up the fight, Katherine Harris, the Supreme Court, etc. But a lot of it has faded for me.

I remember even less from 2004, except that I was depressed for weeks.

So, as bloggers (including myself) go nuts about Palin and her wardrobe, the McCain staffer attack hoax, McCain's left eye twitch, Joe Six-pack, Joe the Plumber, Biden's gaffes, right wing rage, "he's a Muslim", "he's a socialist", Reverend Wright, Bill Ayres, Trig, Piper and Track, and on and on and on, I wonder what will remain at the end of this campaign.

Funny how a campaign season can be parsed ad nauseum by the press and pundits, but then, when its over, they all find some neat and tidy conclusionary statement to explain it all, as if they knew all along that this was the way it would go. You can almost smell the press begging for a closer race so they have more exciting things to talk about.

I hope that what we remember is the beginning of a shift back to the America we once knew and love, that was once respected in the world. I hope we remember a landslide so convincing that no amount of bogus voter registrations by Acorn can sully the victory or question the intent of the American people. I hope it is the greatest voter turnout in American history.

I hope that Palin fades into the woodwork and is recalled as an interesting oddity, like Ross Perot. And I hope McCain decides to retire after his term expires. And has a nice long life at his Sedona ranch with his wife. All of that might be worth remembering for more than a few years... or at least until the next election :)