well friends, it all comes to an end tomorrow.

some time tomorrow night (though it could easily spill into the wee hours of the next morning based on how close this race is), we’ll know if barack obama will get another 4 years or if a guy named mitt will become the new leader of the free world.

some of you will be as thankful for its end as you would if you won a nobel prize or hit the jackpot in the lottery. no doubt, this process can be overwhelming and make us all weary of all things politics.

there’s a small part of me that’s ready for it to be all over, but i have to admit, i enjoy this process. i like the chess game of it all. i like the ridiculous fluctuation in the weekly and seemingly daily polling. i love the back and forth of the political talk shows. i enjoy it because i actually think it matters. exchanging ideas and debating policies is important. sure, it gets ugly at times and there’s plenty of vaccuous talking points, but our country moves forward when we engage in weighing out mulitple points-of-view and civic ideologies.

many people talk about obama supporters being less enthusiastic than 4 years ago. while that might be true in general, my feelings about and support for our president have only become stronger since i last voted for him in 2008. while i was particularly enthusiastic in ’08, it was dampened by some personal drama that i didn’t anticipate. when i became publicly vocal (mainly on this blog) about my support for obama, i lost many friends and colleagues who thought i had—and i’m not kidding at all—turned my back on god by choosing to cast my vote for someone other than a republican. to them, it was tantamount to apostasy. so, the 2008 election season was a personally difficult one. i’m glad to report that the current election has been devoid of those experiences. it’s not that i’m surrounded by ‘yes’ people, but that i’m surrounded by people who, by and large, can have healthy political disagreements that are detached from personal feelings of friendship and respect.

so, it’s been a fun political season. i’m hopeful that it ends tomorrow night with barack obama being re-elected. i genuinely believe his leadership is what our country continues to need and that he will continue to lead us in a better direction.

i’ve seen a couple recaps of this election, but none stood out more than bill maher’s on friday’s real time with bill maher. so, take a look back and relive all the things that have made you weary but also those things that made you laugh and engage and think and roll your eyes and a little bit of every emotion in between.

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