Reminder: We are in a Democracy!

I have been saddened and angered by recent reports of people shouting "Kill!" regarding Obama at McCain/Palin rallys. It is also becoming more and more common to hear disappointed or angry Republicans (or Libertarians or Green Party people) saying something to the effect of "Obama won't be *MY* president." There seems to be some sense going around that the choice for President is a personal issue, and that if your preferences are not met, then you have no obligation to offer respect and support to the man in the office. This site has up an excellent write-up that reminds us we that under our system, the man with the most (electoral) votes wins, and thus ends the argument.

And whether Obama wins – if he wins – by one vote or millions shouldn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if you believe the reason he won was because the press was in the tank for him, or ACORN cheated, or McCain didn’t get a fair shake, or any other legitimate or illegitimate reason you can think of. At the very least, Barack Obama will deserve our acknowledgement that he is the legitimate elected president of the United States.

That doesn’t mean we have to slavishly follow him or join his cult like groupies. What it means is that where what he proposes to do is reasonable and doesn’t conflict with our principles, he should expect our support. It means that we don’t have to delegitimize his presidency to oppose him either. People of good will and good conscience can disagree without tearing each other and the country apart. And in this day and age, such an outcome would be unbearable.

I hope to hear statements from both candidates decrying and condemning the "Kill" shouts at the rallys. And I hope that people on both sides can tone down their personal rhetoric and realize that if Obama is elected, he is the President and is due our respect. Even Nancy Pelosi stood behind President Bush on 9/11. If, God forbid, there is another attack during an Obama presidency, we need to stand behind him then.