Hallelujah! The Elections are Over!

I try not to post much that is political on this blog. It's too easy to make enemies when you discuss politics. I do have a few things to say about this past election. I'll try to keep it short and sweet. As usual, I invite your comments,

• In my estimation, the campaign season is too long. This one for president has been non-stop for two years.
• Way too much money is spent on trying to get elected. The presidential candidates raised and spent almost $1 billion (that's a one with nine zeroes after it!) It is not a big stretch to say that often the candidate with the most money wins locally or nationallly.
  
• This election had the clearest distinction between the two front-runners in a long time. Often it's hard to tell one candidate from another regardless of party. But in this case the candidates were polar opposites on just about any and every issue.
  
• I think early voting stinks. With the exception of absentee ballots for people who are overseas on assignment or shut-in because of health, I think early voting skews the process. What were to happen if a candidate were to fall ill and die? What if we find out that a candidate has really shady connections? What if a person who casts a ballot early dies? (That last one is a gimme, because we all know that dead people vote all the time. :)
• Campaign signs and bumper stickers are a great way to divide a community and alienate potential friends. I can see trying to convince family members and close friends to vote for the candidate of your choice, but it gets downright ugly when it spills out onto lawns and bumpers.
• Debates should be debates, not commercials or rote recitations of talking points. I was seriously disappointed with the debates this time around. I felt like I was watching a ninety minute commercial.
  
• Talking heads are full of themselves. There was very little reporting and a whole lot of opinionated commentary. It was difficult to get the real scoop on candidates because investigative reporting was pretty much non-existent. Unless you count Obama's missing flag pin and Palin's Gucci purse, you didn't learn a whole lot about the candidates.
• We still live in the greatest country in history and on our planet. On January 20th we will have a change of leadership. There will be no tanks in the streets and no bloodshed. The American people will still have the opportunity to write their Congressional Representatives and Senators. We can give money to candidates we believe espouse our best interests and then enter a ballot booth and cast votes. I'd rather live here than anywhere else.
  

Now that it is over, let's get about the business of trying to make our country better. Pray for our new President. Get involved on a grassroots level. And most importantly, remember the priority of enhancing the influence of God's kingdom through prayer and evangelism. It's our country's only real hope and will truly effect the change that is needed.