Finally, one of the most important days in American (perhaps world) history has arrived. On Tuesday, Nov. 4, American citizens vote to elect the president and choose their statesmen to lead the country that has been left in such an unprecedented mess.

The burden is on citizens that we make the right choice, for if we are not careful in making the right choice, we are going to be stuck for at least four more years in the mess President Bush and his administration have created.

It is obvious that however hard Sen. John McCain, maverick or not, tries to separate himself from Bush and his lame-duck administration, he fails to rewrite his party’s playbook. He chose Sarah Palin as his running mate (in hopes of reaching out to Sen. Clinton’s disgruntled supporters and social conservatives), in spite of his ideological differences with her. His choice exhibits his weakness in being an effectively prudent leader, since he can neither separate himself from the failed policies of the Bush administration nor stick to his ideologies. Sarah Palin, “the hockey mom,” a small town mayor and Alaska governor, proves to be an inexperienced, controversial, polarizing and clueless candidate.

It’s a pity that in such a crucial period, Ms. Palin has to waste her time in defending herself against her new expensive wardrobe instead of using the precious time just before an election to let the American public know how she is going to make a difference while filling the second most important office in the country.

Certainly, wearing her $150,000 worth of new clothing provided by the Republican National Committee, she looks good, but that is only until she opens her mouth to display her ignorance, hate and to smear opponents. However, the race for the White House is not a beauty pageant.

We are much worse off than we were four years ago. Eighty percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction. President Bush’s popularity has sunk to the bottom in part because he misled his people.

Under false pretext, he dragged the nation into the Iraq war. The current administration’s lack of foresight, intelligence and common sense, not to forget honesty, has resulted in a downhill slide. We need statesmen with substance to clean up the mess that has accumulated. To turn the leaf over, we desperately need a change in administration that paves the way to a better, brighter future.

A Harvard Law graduate, who was also an editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama is a well-regarded constitutional scholar. He has 8 years of experience as a state legislator and another four years as a U.S. legislator, a total of 12 years of experience in elected offices – more than Ronald Reagan (eight years) and George W. Bush (six years).

The public has called Obama, “a paradigm shifter and a visionary leader.” In stark contrast to the massive failures of a GOP world view and the historic damage done to America’s reputation, Barack Obama indeed has inspired not only our young generation but also many thoughtful people who have the country’s best interest in their heart and have served her faithfully and patriotically.

It’s noteworthy that lifelong Republicans, Colin Powell, who was President Bush’s first secretary of state, Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of two-term President Eisenhower, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, daughter of a Republican president, married to Dwight David Eisenhower II, grandson of another Republican president, have endorsed Obama. 

Obama’s message contains the right amount of moral outrage that resonates with Americans who recognize the damage done to the country in recent years. He has optimistically shared his views from the economy to education and from terrorism to taxes, including his believable vision of repairing America to its former glorious days.

He represents a refreshing change for better brighter tomorrows.

Our American citizens’ duty and right is to get out and vote and be proud that we have done our part by casting our vote thoughtfully in hopes of better tomorrows. If we fail to cast our vote, our complaint and discontent will be nothing but a disgruntled rambling.  

Get out and vote is the key message here! May the Election Day turn out to be bright and sunny for our country. Let us hope that all ends well.

Mandakini Hiremath of Orangeburg is a regular contributor to The Times and Democrat.

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