Consul General's Speeches

September 25, 2008, an election event hosted by the ABC Treehouse, Amsterdam

Good evening. My special thanks to the American Book Center, the ABC Treehouse and Donna DuCarme for hosting this evening’s event and for all of the support you are providing to American voters overseas.

President Lyndon Baines Johnson once said something that resonates with me, and that I have been thinking about a lot over the last few weeks:  “We preach the virtues of democracy abroad. We must practice its duties here at home. Voting is the first duty of democracy.”

In this case, I consider “home” to be Amsterdam.  So even though we are voting from abroad (in my case using this absentee ballot that I just received in the mail this week), perhaps this year more than any election year in recent memory, I think all of us understand how important it is that we take part in the general election on November 4.
Since the caucus and primary season began way back in January (in Iowa) states reported unprecedented increases in voter registration as well as participation in the primaries themselves.  Around the United States and around the world we are seeing tremendous interest in voter registration, including a significant influx of younger voters.

There’s also unprecedented interest in the U.S. presidential campaign all over the world.  It’s not only the historic nature of this campaign – although if you consider the prominence of women candidates for the highest offices in the land, the first African American presidential nominee of a major political party, the candidacy of a venerated war hero – these aspects alone tell a pretty compelling story.

It’s not only the twists and turns either:  the epic Obama/Clinton struggle, the surprise rebound of McCain in New Hampshire that catapulted him toward the Republican nomination, the vice presidential choices on both sides and what they say about the presidential contenders.  There are serious challenges facing our nation:  ongoing conflicts in two different countries, the financial crisis that is leaving its mark on both Wall Street and Main Street, the environment, energy, health care, immigration.  People are seized with the impact that this year’s elections will have on the United States, and the impact they have already had.

With 39 days left in the campaign, today’s Wall Street Journal poll has Barack Obama at 48% and John McCain at 46%, a dead heat and a statistical tie.  So voter registration and voter turnout are far more than interesting phenomena in this campaign.  Where people vote, particularly if they are registered in battleground states, is a matter of exceptional scrutiny, with interactive computer electoral maps replacing Tim Russert’s humble white board.

How people will vote is what we are here to consider this evening.

Thomas Jefferson said, “I know of no safe repository of the ultimate power of society but people.  And if we think them not enlightened enough, the remedy is not to take the power from them, but to inform them by education.”

This evening is about voter education.  It’s about enlightenment.  It is about being informed.  And it is about helping all of us to fulfill the “first duty of democracy.” I hope that you enjoy the discussion this evening and that you will cast your vote on November 4 and make your voice heard.