Vote, or you’ll make this baby cry!
That ‘s me!
Nicole Sharon Sandler born at NYC’s Mt. Sinai Hospital November 4, 1959. Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, and would be for one more year – until November 8, 1960, when JFK became our 35th president.
I was too young to understand when Kennedy was assassinated or who LBJ was, as he was elected president on the day before my fifth birthday.
The day after I turned 9, America sent Richard Nixon to the White House. Despite my best middle school speech plagiarized from a mailer from the George McGovern campaign (on his behalf), Nixon won a second term just after my 13th, on Nov. 7, 1972.
On Nov. 2, 1976, two days I turned 17, the Democrats took back the White House with Jimmy Carter.
Three years later on my 20th birthday, Nov.4, 1979, a group of Iranians stormed the US embassy there, taking 52 Americans hostage. My mother had died just 10 days earlier and I really believed that the world could not get any worse.
The following year, on my 21st birthday, Americans elected Ronald Reagan president. (The hostages were released on the day he was inaugurated.) I had no idea how much worse things could get.
The next decade, and then some, was rough – eight years with Reagan in the White House and another four with George HW Bush – and our first incursion into Iraq.
During that time, I graduated from USF in Tampa and moved to NYC, then to Los Angeles. The good times were about to come again as the first Democrat to take the presidency in a dozen years would soon be elected.
On Nov. 3, 1992 -the day before my 33rd birthday – I finally cast my first presidential vote for the guy who won. Bill Clinton, flawed as he is, held the White House for two terms.
Although election day often falls on Nov. 4, the only presidential election held on my birthday (while I was alive) was that ill-fated 21st birthday that brought us Ronald Reagan.
After Clinton, I endured two very long terms with George W. Bush in the oval office. And finally, on Nov. 4, 2008 – my 49th birthday – America elected Barack Obama our 44th president.
Six years later, here we are. The second midterm election of Obama’s presidency falls on my 55th birthday, I still think he’s better than either alternative over whom we chose him. I know that’s not saying much, but it’s something.
If my calculations are correct, I won’t see another presidential election fall on Nov 4 until 2036. I can’t think about being 57, let alone 77, so I’ll have to make the big asks on birthdays that fall on these midterm election days. Please vote. Please rid FloriDUH of Rick Scott and, while you’re at it, rid Wisconsin of Scott Walker, and Maine of Paul LePage. And please think of our future, our children and grandchildren and stop voting against your own best interests.
Julianna Forlano, host of The Julianna Forlano Show at WBAI in NY, joined me on the show this morning to talk about her Letter to the American Non-Voter.
And GottaLaff helped celebrate today too, sharing in my disgust of the pundit prognosticators wasting time on TV and more.
Please help make this a happy birthday by allowing sanity to prevail…
Tomorrow, Susie Madrak and Harvey J. Kaye will help me decipher the results, radio or not….
Happy Birthday Nicole …. 🙂
Thanks RS! You should join us in the chat sometime during the show.
I will .. always enjoyed the times I have. Great show, guests, and listeners. You’re in different time zone .. so I’m out the door a lot when show on. I’ll work at getting podcast loaded on phone ..
Sucks about the election. But, I blame Dems as much as anything. Running from Progressive ideas and values a mistake. No foundation when Election Cycle hits .. so no message to run on.