I can’t believe it’s finally over. After all the blood, sweat and tears shed over the last year and a half, the election season that has seemingly gone on for eternity has come to an end. It’s the dawning of a new day, one without an onslaught of McCain or Obama ads as the topic of conversation. A weight has been lifted from my shoulders, but my heart feels heavy. What will I do with all this free time?
Being touted as the most important election in history, this election season has been with us for nearly two years. That’s longer than some celebrities’ careers. So much has happened in that time, not to mention tons of riveting news coverage. Being glued to the tube, radio and political Web sites, getting up-to-the-minute polling information, campaign updates or the latest gaffes was exciting. I’d take the long route on my commute to school every morning just to get in a few extra minutes with Morning Edition on NPR and then hustle across campus after classes to get the lowdown on what had transpired throughout the day. At a certain point, it started to take over mine and others’ lives and election burnout began to set in.
This particular 24-hour news cycle was a vicious one. There was always something exciting to read or watch on the news about the McCain campaign’s antics or Obama’s “socialist” plan for America. It was better than reading a trashy novel. It brought us nonstop (mostly) pertinent information on the candidates, but after a while it started to feel like bombardment. The constant back and forth of “he said, she said” sounded like a broken record. It was an emotional roller coaster. Also, the countless debates that were the topic of conversation among fellow classmates in the halls or before class are now over. Now that the big day has passed us by, gone are the late nights of binging on MSNBC campaign coverage.
It’s easy to get caught up in the cycle. Elections are extremely important and we should know as much about the presidential hopefuls as possible. But sometime around October was when the burnout began. With one long month to go, it felt like the Obama/McCain show was going to be a permanent fixture in the media. Not a day had gone by in 20 months without a healthy dose of Anderson Cooper and friends; these people were becoming like family. I’m going to miss our lunches together down in the Cooperage.
While the coverage was sometimes overbearing, it was absolutely necessary to have the kind of access to the candidates we had. There was nothing quite like the Special Comment from Keith Olbermann or watching Sean Hannity grill some unlucky pundit. Not a thing said by either party went unreported. The presidential candidates and their running mates were put under the microscope, as they should be, for the benefit of the American people. This constant coverage also shed light on the candidates’ views on important issues of the election, from the economy and health care to foreign policy and the war in Iraq. It gave us some insight, too, on the temperament of each candidate as well as their vice presidential running mates. The comments that came out of both camps were more or less real time with no room for cover-ups and very few do-overs. The coverage was raw. There may still be some unknown details about McCain, Obama, Palin and Biden, but it’s not likely after hearing about every moment of their lives for the past several months.
Now that the campaigning and speeches in front of thousands of people are over, there is still critical watching to be done. This election season has inspired America. It has shaken us awake and made us realize that we are supposed to be participating on this level, watching and questioning. It’s not over after electing a president. Our duty is just beginning. This is our government, which means Americans, all of us, have a duty to make sure that our government is working for us.
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If you’d like to muse over the current political climate while drinking a smoothie, e-mail Balster at kbalster@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu