With the election finally taking place today, this blog project by the Spokesman Review is just about done. Ken Sands, the online editor, has done a nice job of setting up and administering this blog. I would like to personally thank Ken for a job well done. Hopefully, this is just the start for more blog projects, covering a wide range of topics besides politics.

Participating in this blog has been a fun and interesting experience. Because politics is such a volatile subject that polarizes people, most of us don't discuss politics much with people who hold vastly different viewpoints from our own. Hopefully we have all considered some new ideas and viewpoints during this exercise.

I just got back from voting, and it felt great to submit my ballot. Even if my chosen candidates don't win, there is a feeling of having some control over how things turn out, and a feeling that my viewpoint will at least register in the election results.

For the first time, citizens in Afghanistan experienced the same elation and power of self determination when they elected their goverment officials recently. In January, the citizens of Iraq will also share in this experience, despite the attempts of Saddam's old cronies to terrorize the populace into submission, and deny them free elections. Democracy is a powerful and wonderful thing. As noted by a historian recently, democracies don't conduct war against other democracies. The worldwide spread of democracy is our best hope for world peace. No, it won't come easily. It never does.

Regardless of who wins the presidential election, I hope the losing side graciously accepts the results, and allows our country to move on from the election with dignity and confidence. It will be a great disservice to our country if the loser and his supporters spend the next four years claiming that they were the rightful winners of the election. One of the most important keys to a successful democracy (or republic) is the acceptance of election results by those in power, and the populace. The strength and well being of our nation is more important than the political ambitions of one candidate or party.

Get out there and vote, folks!