US Presidential Election, 2000, John Gerard Tetel
From MemoryArchive
Who: John Gerard Tetel What: US Presidential Election between Gore and Bush When: Tuesday Novemeber 7, 2000 Where: Durham, NC
I remember getting ready for bed the previous night thinking that Al Gore was going to defeat George W. Bush in the election. He had most of the Electoral College projected for his win, Including Florida, which many people thought would be the determining state. However, right before settling in, I saw on the TV that Republicans political analysts were saying that they thought the networks had called the state too early in Gore's favor. I spoke to my parents about this and they reassured me that this rarely, if ever happened. I was content with this explanation and fell asleep.
When I woke up in the morning I learned that no one really knew what was going on. I glanced over the front page to see this news and then delved into more important matters, The comics, which I always read. I knew that the outcome of this election would determine the politcal format of my country, it ultimately did not disrupt much of the day. I still took my classes and we would spend a little time talking about it before getting down to business. My history teacher was the only person to devote and entire course period on discussing this issue. The one comment that has been blazoned on my mind is that one student commented that this is history. Common day to day activity is what we generally experience, but people will be talking about this event for a long while after we are dead and gone.
As I said, this was still the typical day for me. I can't even remember anything else different about that day. No other conversations stick out in my mind, except for what I saw on the comedy news program, The Daily Show. The whole time prior to the election, the nicknamed the election Indecision 2000 to mock other network news programs. And the big punch line they opened with was something along the lines of "Guys we were kidding about the name! You weren't suppose to take it seriously!"
