A Unique Presidential Election

I enjoy talking politics more than you probably know, but if there is one thing I have learned it is that you shouldn't discuss politics or religion with friends. (I have had a strong desire to go back to college and study political science since 2001, which is pretty amazing because as a kid "social studies" and "history" classes were not my cup of tea. As I've gotten older though I have really taken an interest in politics. Yes, I was the "dork" listening to AM talk radio while working in a chemistry lab all day.) Because I do have so many opinions and because I refuse to discuss them with friends, my dear husband gets to hear all of my thoughts on a pretty regular basis. Afterall he CAN'T leave me just because of who I decide to vote for. I think we made a deal with God that we will stick it out with each other for better or for worse (shoot! now I'm talking religion...I better stop while I am ahead!) - even when we disagree on what holes to punch!

Believe it or not, I usually start out as a neutral party and then I do my research. I watch, read and listen to just about everything I can get my hands on before I make a decision on a candidate. (I'd encourage others to do the same thing. Don't just back the guy/gal your parents / friends / spouse are raving about....think for yourself and make your own decisions. Seriously, it's OK to watch the DNC and the RNC!) I learned from my dad a long time ago (around the time that he put a big Ross Perot sign in the front yard) that you don't HAVE to be either a Republican or a Democrat all of the time. You just have to know what you truly believe in, what your hopes and dreams are, and because we live in the great USA we can all make that choice for ourselves.

I probably tend to lean one way more than the other in many instances but I think that there are both "good" and "bad" people representing both parties at any given time. I have definitely voted for candidates representing each of the parties in the past. (I'm not going to name names right now...) And while I definitely have developed clear feelings about both presidential candidates, I am not going to discuss them here on my blog.

However, as I was reading through some information on Wikipedia this morning I found a conglomerate of interesting facts about this election. I think most all of these are well known facts, but when you see them altogether it really highlights how this election is going to be like none of the others in the past. Being that this excerpt is from Wikipedia, it is definitely 100% neutral! I don't want to offend anyone - just give you all some food for thought.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The United States presidential election of 2008, scheduled for Tuesday November 4, 2008 will be the 56th consecutive quadrennial United States presidential election and will select the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. The Republican Party has chosen John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona; Barack Obama, the junior United States Senator from Illinois, has been chosen as the nominee for the Democratic Party. The 2008 election is particularly notable because it is the first time in U.S. history that two sitting senators will run against each other for president, and because it is the first time an African American is a presidential nominee for a major party, as well as the first time both major candidates were born outside the continental United States (Hawaii for Obama and the Canal Zone in Panama for McCain).

With half African-American, half Caucasian candidate Barack Obama as the Democratic Party nominee for President and John McCain's selection of female Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the presumptive Republican Party nominee for Vice-President, the eventual winning ticket is virtually assured of having an historic context. Barring an unlikely victory by a third-party or independent ticket, this will be the first time in American history in which one of the two candidates on the winning ticket was not a predominately Caucasian male.

The election will coincide with the 2008 Senate elections in thirty-three states, House of Representatives elections in all states, and gubernatorial elections in eleven states, as well as various state referendums and local elections.

No incumbents
The 2008 election marks the first time since the 1928 election in which neither an incumbent president nor an incumbent vice president ran for their party's nomination in the presidential election, and the first time since the 1952 election that neither the incumbent President nor incumbent Vice President is a candidate in the general election. The incumbent President, George W. Bush, is serving his second term and is barred from running again by the term limits in the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. Vice President Dick Cheney has chosen not to seek the presidency.

In the three previous two-term Presidential administrations—those of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton—the incumbent vice president has immediately thereafter run for president. Richard Nixon lost the 1960 election, George H. W. Bush won the 1988 election, and Al Gore lost the 2000 election. From 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney frequently stated he would never run for President: "I will say just as hard as I possibly know how to say... If nominated, I will not run; if elected, I will not serve." The 2008 election is the first in which the Vice President is not a candidate for either the presidency or the vice presidency since Nelson Rockefeller in 1976.

Leading candidates are senators
Following the June 3 Democratic primaries, the presumptive nominees for the major party nominations were both serving United States Senators: Republican candidate John McCain (Arizona) and Democratic candidate Barack Obama (Illinois). It is the first time in history that the two main opponents in the general election are both sitting Senators. Therefore, it appears virtually certain that the 2008 election will mark the first time since the election of John F. Kennedy in 1960 that a sitting Senator will be elected President of the United States, and only the third time ever in American history, after John F. Kennedy and Warren G. Harding. Obama's running mate, Joe Biden of Delaware, is also a sitting senator.

Leading candidates' origins and age
Either candidate would become the first president born outside the Continental United States, as Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and McCain was born at Coco Solo, Panama Canal Zone, a US naval base. A bipartisan legal review agreed that McCain is a natural-born citizen of the United States, a constitutional requirement to become president. Obama, having a white mother and Kenyan father of the Luo ethnic group, would be the first president to be black and to be biracial. McCain would be the first president from Arizona, while Obama would be the third president elected from Illinois, the first two being Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant. The last candidates to run from these states were Adlai Stevenson (D) of Illinois, who ran and lost in 1952 and 1956, and Barry Goldwater (R) of Arizona, who ran and lost in 1964. While being elected from Illinois, Obama would become the first president from Hawaii, his home state by birth.

Also, if inaugurated on January 20, 2009, McCain would be the oldest U.S. president upon ascension to the presidency at age 72 years and 144 days, and the second-oldest president to be inaugurated (Ronald Reagan was 73 years and 350 days old at his second inauguration).
Barack Obama and John McCain are 24 years and 340 days apart in age. This is the largest age disparity between the two major party presidential candidates, surpassing Bill Clinton and Bob Dole (23 years and 28 days apart in age) who ran against each other in 1996.

This is also the first Presidential election since 1976, and only the fourth since the Civil War, in which none of the four nominees for President and Vice-President from the two major parties have ties of birth or political office to any of the three most populous states in the Union (New York, Texas, or California). Obama was born in Hawaii and represents Illinois, McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone and represents Arizona, Biden was born in Pennsylvania and represents Delaware, while Palin was born in Idaho and represents Alaska.

Party conventions
April 23-26, 2008: 2008 Constitution Party National Convention held in Kansas City, Missouri.
May 23-26, 2008: 2008 Libertarian National Convention, held in Denver, Colorado.
July 10-13, 2008: 2008 Green Party National Convention, held in Chicago, Illinois.
July 18-20, 2008: 2008 Reform Party National Convention, held in Dallas, Texas.
August 25-28, 2008: 2008 Democratic National Convention, held in Denver, Colorado.
September 1-4, 2008: 2008 Republican National Convention, held in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Presidential and vice-presidential debates
Four debates have been announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates
September 26: First CPD Presidential Debate in Oxford, Mississippi at the University of Mississippi on Foreign Policy & National Security. The debate will be formatted into nine nine-minute segments, with the moderator introducing the topics.
October 2: Vice Presidential Debate in St. Louis, Missouri at Washington University in St. Louis. The format and issues have not been decided.
October 7: Second CPD Presidential Debate in Nashville, Tennessee at Belmont University. It will have a town meeting format and will include any issues raised by members of the audience.
October 15: Third CPD Presidential Debate in Hempstead, New York at Hofstra University on Domestic and Economic Policy. Like the first CPD debate, this debate will be formatted into nine nine-minute segments, with the moderator introducing the topics.

Election day through to Inauguration
November 4, 2008: Election Day in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Voters cast votes for listed presidential candidates but are actually selecting their state's slate of Electoral College members.
December 15, 2008: Members of the U.S. Electoral College meet in each state to cast their votes for President and Vice President.
January 6, 2009: Electoral votes officially tallied before both Houses of Congress. If a member of Congress wishes to object to the certification of a state's electoral votes as was originally reported on Election Night, he or she must do so at this point, even if recounts or lawsuits to require a recount are already in progress.
January 20, 2009: Inauguration Day.