Last night former eBay CEO Meg Whitman received several million votes in her failed bid (no pun intended) for the California governorship and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina received millions of votes in an unsuccessful run for the Senate. A close friend of mine is also a chief executive of sorts, albeit of a much smaller company, and he entered politics this year as well, running for a district-wide state office. While a shift of 100,000 votes would look like a meaningless rounding error in the above races for Governor or Senator, for my friend Bill an additional 7,000 votes would have given him a victory in his first political campaign.
Unlike campaigns that threw a fortune into attack ads and mud at their opponents, Bill's campaign directed all of its resources into putting his ideas forward and letting them rise or fall on their merits. Truth be told, we were disappointed but not surprised by his loss at the polls. Everyone loves a good David vs. Goliath story with a triumphant underdog, but in reality we tend to see why the smart money bets on Goliath. Bill isn't an Elk, a Lion or a Mason. He isn't on the school board, zoning board or planning board. He's not a union member, he belongs to no church and he has only lived in his district for 12 years, which makes him a newcomer by local standards. In short, at the beginning of the election cycle he was a cipher to most voters and he was up against a popular multi-term Republican incumbent in a very Republican district. That's not an uphill battle; that's an uphill four minute mile in street shoes.
Things have gotten ugly in this country. Our political discourse at the moment is only slightly more civilized than a cockfight, and political leaders have been regarded with contempt. Republicans, who had a huge night last night, have an approval rating that would generally spell disaster, and on the other side of the aisle, Harry Reid only survived because he was perceived as a Democratic frying pan to Sharron Angle's Grand Old Fire. Many voters are selecting whomever they despise less.
That said, spending election night in my friend's living room reminded me what's great about our political process and let me forget the cynicism and anger for a while. I sat there with a man who sought nothing more than a chance to make his contribution to our self-governing society. He wasn't seeking money, power, a pension or anything else, nor was he trying to advance any agenda other than doing whatever he can to improve the lives and fortunes of those in his district. This was a case of civic minded public service in its purest and noblest form. He and I have some major differences in political philosophy, yet he welcomed my input as well as that of anyone else who was willing to talk to him. He wanted to hear from everyone both despite and because of political differences. That's how a representative of the people should be!
When all the returns were in, Bill received 765 votes or 6% of those cast. That's actually an impressive tally for a little known third party candidate in that race. He should be proud of every vote because he earned each one of them with his ideas not his party affiliation. He ran a selfless and honorable race and his message resonated with a significant number of people. I wish that everyone would see up close what it's really like to run for office. Those who put themselves out there deserve our respect, and around Election Day, those who dared to step into the ring have earned the right to stand a little taller, win or lose. I'm thankful that I had a ringside seat.
