It is the final day of the 2008 presidential election and I for one am glad. Do not misunderstand. I am not glad the campaign itself is over because I have found it to be highly exciting, interesting and, in many ways, challenging. But our nation has been drifting for far too long now with inept leadership and wrong-headed policies. We need new leadership and new energy at the helm and we cannot afford to wait any longer for it.

Since beginning this blog I have purposefully attempted to stay out of taking sides in this year's political contest because in these entries I mainly have wanted to focus on various aspects of communication and not politics. However, communication, as it always does, has played a key role in this race and it has been from that angle that I have touched on the political debate from time to time. After all, it is the president who, by virtue of the office, serves as our nation's communicator in-chief. Throughout our history we have had good communicators and not-so-good ones. I would argue that there is a direct correlation between the fortunes of our nation and how well each particular president communicates. Is the president honest? How well does the president listen? Can and does the president inspire? Does the president present an air of inclusiveness in their remarks? It is answers to these and other relevant questions that help shape my decisions every four years as to who I will support. 2008 is no different. Thus, if I were to give any guidance as to who to vote for this year, one criteria to use is how well each candidate communicates.

By the time I make my next entry we will have a new president. At that time I will have some recommendations - from a communication standpoint - as to how this person should proceed to begin the important process of bringing the nation together. It has been done before and it can be done again. In the meantime, for any one and everyone who might stumble across this blog, I leave you with one word: VOTE!