Nervous to vote

In the 2000 election, American voters cast their ballots and, after a controversy that left Al Gore dissatisfied, George Bush was sworn into office. Though Bush hardly won by a landslide, he still won – and the voters of America made it happen.
Sure, everybody makes mistakes, but the mistake was not corrected when voters were given the chance in 2004. Way to go, eligible voters of 2004.

That election was four years ago, and after viewing Bush’s most recent approval (or I should say “disapproval”) ratings, it seems America changed its mind. In a poll taken this month by the Associated Press, 64 percent of those polled disapprove of Bush.
I was 11 years old during the 2000 election and 15 years old in 2004. Had I been eligible to vote, I would like to think that I would have voted for Herbert Hoover before I would have voted for Bush.

Part of me is relieved that I can blame the voters before me for the disaster that was the Bush administration. The other part of me is nervous that, as an eligible voter in 2008, I am now burdened with the responsibility to vote the right man into office, Barack Obama or John McCain. I have to select a man who, four years from now, can make me proud to say I helped empower him. If I vote for the winner, I hope I will still support his decisions when pollsters are collecting approval ratings in years to come.

I can’t stomach the thought of feeling the way I’m sure many recovering Republicans must be feeling now. If the man I vote for wins and then fails the way Bush did, I think I’ll move to Canada after writing a letter of apology to those Americans who were not eligible to vote this year. 

When Bill Clinton beat Bob Dole in 1996, I was in second grade and had been following the election the way many of my peers followed the programs on Nickelodeon. In fact, while watching the debate in which Dole discussed his intentions to “close the gap between the rich and the poor,” I decided right then and there to be a Democrat.

“I hope you won’t vote for Dole,” I said to my parents. “He wants to close the GAP, and we get a lot of our clothes from that store.”

OK, I was seven years old. I promise, my political knowledge has flourished since then.

It has been 12 years since I tried to vote vicariously through my parents, but ultimately the choice was theirs. Now, the pressure is on, and it’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. This year, I have my own voice as a registered voter in Monroe County.
Making the selection is a great responsibility for all of us who are first-time voters. We will be partially to blame if we select the wrong guy. Of course the candidate I vote for also has a responsibility. If he wins, he better not disappoint. I have 12 years of anticipation riding on him.