Finally, the election is over
By John Long
One thought keeps running through my head — at least, at last, it’s all over.
As I write this, people are standing in lines at polling places across the nation to take part in this great exercise in democracy. I voted a little while ago; my wife and adult daughters will cast their ballots later this evening. But the results are not yet known, of course. By the time you read this, you’ll probably know who prevailed in the contest, but that’s information that I am several hours from sharing. Such are the pitfalls of Tuesday deadlines in an election year.
Long is director of the Salem Museum and a Roanoke Times columnist.
November 8, 2012 - 7:52 AM
John, although your views are often more conservative than mine, I enjoy many of your columns, and today’s is a favorite. I especially liked, “We end up discussing which candidate had the best zinger or the worse facial expressions instead of why each believes his vision the best for our future.” One example that sticks in my mind is the Republican reaction that Mr. Obama’s “zinger” about the Navy was more “snarky” than presidential. I heard no discussion of whether we should be concerned about having fewer ships than 100 years ago, or whether advances in technology mean that we have more military capability with the ships we have now than we would have had 100 years ago with twice as many ships of that era. Why don’t reporters ask more of those kinds of questions?