Urban Thought Collective

This is it. My final blog before America elects a new president. No matter what the outcome is on Tuesday, it has been an extraordinary experience to share this historic election process with all of you here at UTC.

Huge early voting suggests the excitement generated by this election and the speculation of massive voter turnout is real. I have been debating if I want to vote early or share the excitement of voting on Election Day. I am also debating whether I will go to Nevada and volunteer with the Obama campaign, fly home to Chicago to be in the crowd and witness, hopefully, The President Elect live or be where most of the world will be when the election is “called”, at home in front of a television.

You know how I feel about the ability of television to allow us all to share historic events. What’s going to be particularly interesting on Tuesday is what will the history be? Will American elect the first African American president or the oldest first term President and the first Woman Vice President? This is enormously intriguing because at this point most people expect Sen. Obama to win.

If he does, there will be a HUGE celebration by Obama supporters. Sen. McCain’s supporters will be disappointed if they lose and no doubt, a few tears will be shed. But they’ve seen the polls and have had more than enough time to brace themselves for defeat. If Obama loses, (I’m sorry I had to actually type those words) his supporters will be crushed. It would be one of the biggest upsets in Presidential politics since Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey. Looking at the catastrophic economic conditions and the dismal approval of President Bush’s entire eight year administration, no Republican candidate should be able to win. Compounding the problem, Sen. McCain has run one of the worst Presidential campaigns ever. I know even though many Republicans will still vote for McCain out of party loyalty, deep down in there gut, they’re hopping Obama wins.

A partial list of McCain’s critics include; Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, Kathleen Parker, Ken Adelman, Mathew Dowd, Alex Castellanos and Ed Rollins. Those are all Republicans! Each one of them has either acknowledged the mistake of picking Sarah Palin, said publicly they expect McCain to loose, or actually endorsed Sen. Obama.

Just when political pundits thought the absurdity of Sarah Palin’s wardrobe dominating news cycles couldn’t get any worse (thanks to Sarah Palin and Elizabeth Hasslebeck) the McCain camp brings “Joe the Plumber” out on the campaign trail. Then “Joe” starts weighing in on Foreign Policy! If this was a movie you’d say “Ok, now they went too far.” But it’s TRUE! After seeking The White House for almost ten years, in the final days, Sen. McCain has come to the conclusion that policy arguments and his compelling life story will not help him win the election. Instead, he has a real hope that some totally random unvetted guy in the crowd can now step up to an open microphone and help him win. I swear this must be Ashton Kutcher’s greatest episode of “Punked!”

The last scenario is why I remind us that the world will be watching. If something “tricky” happens. If there are voter irregularities, problems at the polls or any kind of “theft” no one will be caught off guard. The election of 2000 has made everyone more vigilant and I believe less likely to tolerate even the appearance of impropriety. I know “dream teams” of lawyers are on standby in the event we need to fight it out in the courts…again. The difference this time will by a nation poised to protest and follow “The Leader” all the way to the front door of the Supreme Court. Believe that.

But more than anything, I’m optimistic. I’m a believer. I think on November 4th, 2008 we’re going to elect Barack Obama our 44th President. My eyes are welling up with tears at the thought. I believe we can change the course of our country, turn our economy around, restore our reputation abroad and take care our own. I can’t wait to see what happens!

Let me get my remote!

Darryl Bell is an actor and Chicago native, best known for his role in classic TV series “A Different World” and Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” His unique television commentary is exclusive to Urban Thought Collective.