The Lion and Gun

It's going to get hectic soon. We'll have the first exit polling data coming down the pike, and we all know not to take it seriously and we all remember it showed Kerry winning four years ago and yet we're all going to obsessively read it like sheep's entrails until real numbers come pouring in starting at 6pm EST.

But before that happens, let's take a moment to reflect on what a campaign it's been. I won't impose my own version of the narrative on you. But whoever you support I think you'd have to agree that this has been a remarkable two years.

It seems that with every election people trip over each other to proclaim it the Most Important of our Lifetime. I'm not sure if that's really the case. Maybe it is. But in some sense, looking at the disaster of the past four years, 2004 might have been the more vital cycle. As important as efforts to rescue drowning passengers on a sinking ship might be, I think you could make the case that it would have been better that the ship not hit the iceberg in the first place. Anyway, by now this election's a no-brainer.

Nevertheless, it really has been probably the most exciting and extraordinary campaign since Nixon/Humphrey, or maybe Nixon/Kennedy. The nation might or might not change in fundamental ways. The Republican party might or might not be reduced to a conservative rump. Barack Obama might or might not be a transformational President.

But I am convinced that, come what may, this election will be a landmark that helps to shape and define my generation the way John F. Kennedy's Presidency defined my parents' generation. And there's something exciting about that. To really feel like you're living history -- such moments are rare and, alas, rarely good ones. But for many Americans, whichever side of the political divide they stand on, this moment is a truly great one.

Let's be aware of that today. Let's enter the moment with eyes open. Let's vote, let's hope. And let's devour exit polls like candy even though we know it's bad for us.