Election Day

What an election season it has been.  And tonight it will all end.  That is a good thing in my book.

Here in Utah there is a pollster, Dan Jones, who has polled very election from 1960 on.  In an article in the paper today he mentions some things that have surprised him and made it different from other elections.  I agree with the points he made.

 His first point is the "intensity and the animosity" between Republicans and Democrats.   He feels it is the most emotional election he has ever covered. 

His second point was the "nonfactor of Romney's Mormon faith."  In other words, he thought that Romney's religion would impact his candidacy in a more negative manner than it appears to have done.   I was likewise afraid that there would be a lot of negative press for the Church.  While there has been some, I've felt that, for the most part, there has been an even-handed portrayal of our beliefs and programs in the press. 

The third and fourth points he mentioned were the "amount of money spent nationally and statewide" on the campaigns and the "impact of the debates".  In my opinion, Romney came across so poorly before the debates, that my hope was that he would just not embarrass himself during the debates.  Instead he presented himself and his policies very well.  And it created a great momentum for him that he did not have before.   Which leads to the fifth point, which is the closeness of the campaign.  The sixth point was the "sheer length of the campaign."   Which is why I'm glad it is coming to an end.

So whoever wins, I can feel amazed that in the last two elections we've had an African-American and a Mormon in the race.  Two groups of people who, at one time or another, were victims of prejudice and mistreatment.   That says a lot about democracy.