Highlights of 2004, Number 6

6. Electioneering. You’d have to be under a rock not to know the big news story this year was the U.S. elections.

Bush got reelected. Some even say legitimately. It took me a while to come to grips, but I’m over it now. I might not like him any more than I did before, but I no longer feel the need to rant about him. I did what I could; its time to move on.

In the long run, his victory might be better for Dems. Iraq is Bush’s to clean up. He got us into this mess and its up to him to get us out.

While I supported Kerry, he never really lit a fire under me. He sold himself as being Bush-lite. Considering the alternative, though, I decided to cast my lot with him. I still respect the things he accomplished in the Senate, like bringing down one of the world’s largest criminal organizations and Osama Bin Laden’s bank of choice, the Bank of Commerce and Credit International. That took dogged determination and plenty of guts.

One fantastic opportunity came when the Veterans for Kerry invited me and several fellow veterans to join Kerry and Edwards at their rally in Raleigh. It was sweltering. When I met them face to face, they seemed tired and distracted. But how often does a dork like me get to ride in a motorcade?

The thing that still makes me chuckle is my standing onstage right behind Dean Smith. Coach Smith looked like he was about to pass out. In fact, he sat through most of the rally, blaming his bad knees. But he was right there. I was sweating on Dean Smith!

At the rally, I met a fellow vet by the name of Grier Martin, who was running for the N.C. House. Later, I spent a few hours volunteering for his campaign, knocking on doors and passing out pamphlets. It was lots of walking in the hot sun, but it paid off: Grier takes office next month. I had fun helping him campaign and learned a lot in the process.

Personally, I’ve always kept alive a small desire to someday run for office. After a few weeks of reflection on this past election, I’m not sure its something I really want. I could never sit through an entire Board of Aldermen meeting in Garner without wanting to doze. (I’m amazed I got through the dozens of Garner rezoning meetings I attended. Yet somehow I did.) That part of the job – all the endless meetings – doesn’t appeal to me. Call me ADD or something. I’ve got better things to do.

And besides, no sane politician would run for office after posting three years of his thoughts on a weblog. Would they?