I live in Dallas, and in 94 I knew Bush and his cronies were gunning for the White House. I have fought against this man for over 10 years now, and I cannot believe we are so close.
I offer an apology that my state did not stop him when we had the chance; that we did not take him seriously; that we unleashed him on the world.
His has been a particularly onus brand of sinicism and deceit, pushed by his cadre of handlers and reinforced by his feelings of entitlement, lack of curiosity, and false bravado. It was a recipe for disaster from the very start.
With his rise to power, my faith in this country and the goodness of its people sank. The mad and unquestioning march to war--drunk as we seemed to be on our new-found lone super power status--only reinforced my fear. The media's complicity in it all, dashed any hope that the truth might prevail. I wondered if we'd ever find our way home.
Even if Kerry wins today, which I am hopeful (even confident) he will, it will take a long time to heal the wounds Bush has inflicted, not just on our national identity, but also on our reputation in the world and on the world order itself. The wounds are deep. The healing will be slow.
But sitting here, at 4:35 CT on November 2, 2004, I see the end of this nightmare approaching.
With tears in my eyes, and hope in heart, I am ready to take my country back and ready for us, once again, to be the country we were meant to be. The country I believed in all my life. A country of hope not fear, of opportunity not greed, of compassion and humility not anger and brute force.
It feels good to hope again.