Well, this is it.  In about 13 hours, all the polls will be closed.  Barring another 2000-esque debacle, we should know our next President in 12 to 18 hours.

I’m 33 years old, and this is the first election I’m voting in.  I have no good excuse; I guess it’s just a mix of apathy and laziness that I finally grew out of about a year ago (the friends I keep also provided a little kick in the butt).

Things I’ve learned as a first-time voter:

1) The system sucks.  No, not capitalism or the government laid out in the Constitution, but the system that allows elected officials to care more for themselves and their buddies than they do for the people that elected them.  I think there’s a revolution of sorts coming, and those in power won’t like it!

2) Some people just shouldn’t be allowed to vote.  I have at least one friend whose reason for voting Obama boils down to a “man crush.”  While I think Obama is the worst possible option, I support peoples’ right to vote for him.  But seriously, at least do a little research and have a good reason!

3) Neal Boortz is right: “I believe that the principal difference between the Democrats and the Republicans is that the Democrats just want to grow our Imperial Federal Government a bit faster than the Republicans do.” At the end of the day, what’s truly hurting the Republican party is that they’ve become, with some exceptions, “Democrats Lite.”

So, I’m on my way to locate some school that’s allegedly in my neighborhood and vote; you should do the same (well, other than finding that school in my neighborhood; I suspect they’d just send you away if you don’t live around here).

Oh, my prediction?  Well, yesterday I made the statement that Sarah Palin is probably the next Republican President.  However, the polls are close, possibly skewed, and have enough of a margin of error that it’s really anyone’s game.  I’m calling McCain in an upset, thus defeating the looming socialist nightmare.