Some Landslide
I’ve already observed that Obama’s victory, while substantial, was hardly a landslide.
It turns out to be hardly remarkable at all:
Politico reports that estimates of voter turnout continue to decline in this year’s national election. At first, some predicted a turnout of 137 million. Now the estimates have declined to the point where the percentage of eligible voters would be the same as in 2004, but only if one accepts the idea that we’re still missing millions of votes from the final total:
Despite widespread predictions of record turnout in this year’s presidential election, roughly the same portion of eligible voters cast ballots in 2008 as in 2004.
Between 60.7 percent and 61.7 percent of the 208.3 million eligible voters cast ballots this year, compared with 60.6 percent of those eligible in 2004, according to a voting analysis by American University political scientist Curtis Gans, an authority on voter turnout.
His Oneness still won, don’t get me wrong. But it’s not so momentous a day as to warrant a new national holiday:
Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation’s 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.
“Yes We Can” planning rallies will be at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the downtown McDonald’s restaurant, 1100 Kansas Ave., until Jan. 13. The goals are to secure a national holiday in Obama’s honor….
At a McDonald’s? I really shouldn’t say anything.
But can’t we just recycle an old national holiday we don’t really use anymore? Somehow, the National Day of Prayer seems appropriate.
Thersites said,
November 9, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
Correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t we have this thing called “President’s Day”?
Bloodthirsty Liberal said,
November 10, 2008 @ 5:15 am
We do, indeed, but that’s for presidents, not presidents-elect. Clearly, something more is called for—how about All Saints Day for Obama?