Vote or shut the fuck up

(Fortunately, the line was shorter when Rico went to vote.)

From of the Los Angeles Times, commentary by James Rainey on the election:

The charged coffeehouse conversations. The constant punching of states on computerized electoral college maps. The mesmerizing hours in front of Fox, CNN, and YouTube.
It's time for this to end.
Across time zones and political persuasions, from north to south, anxious and exhausted Americans said Monday that they couldn't wait for the interminable, contentious presidential campaign finally to be over. It's time for them, and their country, to move on.
With America in the midst of two wars and an economic crisis worse than most people can remember, it was hard to find the kind of voters Monday who in past years would say the outcome didn't matter.
The swelling emotion could be found in microcosm in an apartment in New York's East Village, where two college roommates -- one a Democrat, the other a Republican -- hid behind their bedroom doors to avoid a last-minute political discussion.
David Laska, a 21-year-old student at New York University, felt sadness that the race seemed to be slipping away from McCain, who he said "really had the capacity to be a great American president. But the political climate right now is so bad I think he doesn't have a prayer." Still, Laska planned to drive to Pennsylvania to help with last-minute get-out-the-vote efforts.
One might expect Laska's roommate, Obama supporter Bryan Fellbusch, to be more upbeat. But the 21-year-old reported an affliction common to many of his fellow Democrats -- post-traumatic stress from losses in 2000 and 2004. "I've been freaking out all day. I keep having these horrible flashbacks to . . . four years ago, when Bush was reelected. It was the most devastating day of my life," said Fellbusch, who had worked for Democrat John F. Kerry when the Massachusetts senator came within 118,000 votes in Ohio of claiming the presidency in 2004.
As if the endless campaign and the economic malaise didn't provide enough anxiety, many voters found themselves fretting about the very integrity of the democratic process. Perhaps that's not surprising, given the constant news reports in recent weeks: Republicans protesting fraudulent voter registrations. Democrats charging that legitimate voters were being purged from the rolls. Election officials across the country issued rounds of assurances in recent days about their registration lists, their voting machines, and their contingency plans. But many voters weren't ready to have faith.

Rico says he's damned sure glad this one's over. (And he asked his voting place captain if the electronic machines printed out any confirming paper ballots, just in case. "Nope," was the answer. "If we get hacked, we get hacked." That was comforting...) As a registered Republican, Rico is sure everyone wonders who he voted for, but he ain't gonna tell you. If you want to know, go buy one of his books and email him that you did and thus bought news of his vote. Otherwise, hide and watch. We'll all know tonight if we voted for the guy who's in or the guy who's out...