Allow me to leave the realm of technology and offer up my thoughts on the election, just like every other blogger out there.

In an effort to be up front, I will state that I voted for McCain, although this will be the last year that I vote for someone strictly because they are a republican. I think it’s time to start seriously looking at independent candidates, although I feel that the republicans will be re-energized in 4 years.

I am grateful that the election is over and I can listen to Pandora without having a giant picture of Obama smiling at me (not that McCain would have been any better, maybe Palin would have been ;) ). The Pandora add illustrates the type of campaign that Obama was running, and other candidates should have taken notes.

I feel that this election was too much about race, and I cringe when I hear people talk about the first black president, and how this shows what America is really about. Yes, in fact it does show what America is about, and that is, that for all our talk, race STILL IS an issue, otherwise no one would be mentioning it now! I will celebrate the day when a candidate can win (be they white, black, man, women, etc) without playing the race/gender card (and yes, white males can play that card as well). I also think it will be a more momentous occasion when an independent candidate is elected President, as Democrats and Republicans are more alike then they are different.

Scott Hanselman has been blogging a bit about the race, as well as the outcome last night. Scott is someone who I can identify with because we share a similar passion about technology. Scott made this comment in his post, “My boys will grow up in a country that values people of all kinds, including ones that look like them.” and I’m a little disappointed, as are a few of the people who left comments. To think that I or anyone else valued his children less because they have a darker skin complexion is something I wholeheartedly disagree with. Furthermore, to think that the election of a President with a darker skin complexion, who played the race card, illustrates a flaw in our society that must be overcome before I start celebrating. To be honest, I think Scott’s family shows a more positive image about America, with respect to the race issue, then the election of Obama.

In the end, I just get the feeling that the Republicans knew they were going to loose no matter what. I don’t think they threw in the towel, but maybe they felt it better to conserve their resources to fight another day. While I hope for a dramatic turn around in the economy, history has shown that it follows a different set of rules. There is a tough road ahead for the Democrats, and they have 2 years to fix everything, or we’ll have a repeat of 94 when the republicans took control of congress.