Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Finally, political ads will be over
Read Shanna's blog
Shanna Flowers is The Roanoke Times' metro columnist.
Shanna Flowers
Recent columns
The economy is in shambles and the national debt is mounting. The American dream of homeownership is turning into a nightmare. Food costs are skyrocketing and jobs are vanishing.
Suspend for a moment, if you will, the grave issues fueling today's historically pivotal election.
The presidential race of 2008 is the most memorable in my lifetime. But this campaign has been more than politics. The road to the White House has been a soap opera with more twists and turns than Interstate 77 through Fancy Gap.
And for the first time in more than 40 years, the path to the presidency has cut a wide swath through Virginia.
The Old Dominion is a swing state.
Candidates and their surrogates have practically fallen over each other as they criss-crossed the state bartering promises for votes.
As further proof that Virginia potentially holds the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., our airwaves have been inundated with political ads.
In previous presidential years, Republican candidate John McCain would have long had Virginia wrapped up and neatly tucked in the "win" (or red) column.
Because we are in play, I can't watch an episode of "The Mentalist" without enduring an advertising catfight between McCain and Democratic contender Barack Obama, sometimes in back-to-back ads.
I never thought I'd say this, but I almost long for those erectile dysfunction commercials.
Obama fired the first salvo in Virginia when he launched his general election campaign in June in Bristol. He's darted around the state many times since and came to Roanoke last month, drawing 8,000 loyalists to the Roanoke Civic Center.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin trumped that last week when 16,000 of her closest Southwest Virginia allies braved frigid weather to hear her rally party enthusiasts at Salem Stadium.
Whatever your politics, this election has held our rapt attention in ways I've never seen.
The fascination began with a woman and a black man competing for the Democratic presidential nomination and has only grown from that.
Then, Lordy, Iowa happened and Obama suddenly seemed like a contender. At that moment, folks got hooked on Election 2008. And like a good afternoon (or nighttime) soap, there was plenty to keep folks coming back for more.
Who can forget the day in January when Hard-as-Nails Hillary showed some emotion before the New Hampshire primary. (I still think the tears were real, but Hillary haters on my blog let me have it.)
Late in the Democratic primary campaign, Hillary conceded the race when she gave a speech in Washington, D.C., and finally cried uncle.
Over on the Republican side, a bunch of dudes battled for the nomination. If Hillary, indeed, did turn on the tears, there were none to speak of on the Republican side -- except from boredom.
McCain wrapped up the nomination early on, and his campaign seemed to sputter so badly that he had trouble drawing even small crowds.
That ended abruptly just before the GOP convention, when he picked Palin as his running mate.
The Alaska governor had a mini soap opera in her own family, with a pregnant teenage daughter. Palin became a celebrity in her own right.
Her ratings remained high for a while as she reignited the political enthusiasm of hordes of conservative working mothers and the Christian right. Then she transcended from politics to pop culture.
Palin can take credit for bringing actress Tina Fey to an even wider audience.
Fey out-Palin'd Sarah Palin on several skits on "Saturday Night Live."
Fey is just one name that contributed to this year's riveting presidential race story line.
Jeremiah Wright. Joe the Plumber. Neiman Marcus. William Ayers.
Candidates fought for face time on television shows such as "SNL," "The Daily Show," "Ellen" and Letterman. And if that weren't enough, we learned over the weekend that Obama's aunt is an illegal alien.
The 2008 presidential campaign has delivered one drama after another.
And judging from recent presidential polls, the results tonight will be the final cliffhanger.
