It’s hard to believe midterms have passed and this is my last column before the election. Let’s pretend just for a few minutes that we’re a little ways into the future. If John McCain can pretend during a campaign event, then I certainly can in this column.
Let’s imagine Nov. 5. In my ideal world Sen. Barack Obama will be President-elect Obama.
After he finishes partying, President-elect Obama will go to work on the transition process. Fortunately, thanks to McCain we all know Obama has picked out the drapes for the White House windows weeks in advance, so he won’t have a lot of transition work to do. Instead of decorating, Obama will be forming a brilliant cabinet.
In this fantasy, McCain will be rocking in a dark corner somewhere in Arizona muttering “maverick” to himself and wondering how he could have lost to some socialist punk.
Susie hockey mom, I mean Gov. Sarah Palin, will return to Alaska with her new $150,000 wardrobe — courtesy of the RNC — and go back to field dressing a moose while wearing high heels.
With any luck once she gets back to Alaska, she’ll realize she really doesn’t like the rest of the country, and she’ll go back to work with the Alaskan Independence Party and we’ll all be done with her forever.
My imagination won’t quit there. This guy most of you know, Tony Brown, gets elected to the Kansas State Legislature. Anyone who knows him knows that is just the first step. In the future, we will all wage a massive write-in campaign and elect him president, but that is a ways down the road.
Tom Holland gets elected to the Kansas State Senate, replacing the questionable Roger Pine. And despite a strong attempt by her competition, Congresswoman Nancy Boyda is re-elected.
The final component to make a perfect Nov. 5 is the successful passage of the USD 348 Bond Issue. On Nov. 5, if all goes well, lots of people will get to sit back and relax after a long 15-week Vote Yes campaign.
Of all of this fantasy, that last part is most important to remember when you get to the ballot box Tuesday. If you vote for McCain, we might not be friends anymore, but we can still talk. If you vote against all the candidates I just listed, I’ll be disappointed.
If on Tuesday you go to vote and you vote against the USD 348 Bond Issue, the outcome will be much worse.
Baldwin City’s youngest students still will be in class with mold and spiders. Baldwin’s athletes will have either inadequate facilities or will continue to crowd Baker’s facilities for practices. Baldwin’s music and theater programs will continue to do performances in the Baldwin High School gym or in an auditorium that is more comparable to a cave with questionable wiring.
Last but not least, know what you need to take with you when you vote and what you can’t take with you.
When you go to vote in Baldwin, take your Baker ID with you. When you go to vote, don’t wear anything related to any political campaign, which means no “Vote Tony” T-shirts and no Move On.org Obama buttons.
Where to vote? Irwin Hall, the Living and Learning Center, Horn and Markham apartments residents and Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Phi Mu and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority members vote at the Baldwin City Fire Department downtown. Gessner Hall residents, Delta Tau Delta and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity members vote at the Primary Center behind the Baker apartments. Kappa Sigma and Zeta Chi fraternity members vote at the American Legion by City Hall.
If you have any other questions, go to www.voteforchange.com