My First Vote For President That Kind of Matters!

Here I am, all of 25 years old, and I finally get a say in who will become nominee on the Democratic ticket. I've waited a long time for this. If only I were lucky enough to have been born 118 miles away in scenic Hampton Beach, NH. That would have been the ticket.

Other than gubernatorial elections and some wacky ballot initiatives, voting in Massachusetts is a waste of time. I mean, we had a senator kill someone and he still won 61.2% of the vote. Our junior senator was inaugurated into office before my second birthday. Suffice to say, Massachusetts is every bit the Democratic stronghold that its reputation suggests. And, unfortunately, this year was the first year where Massachusetts got to vote on a contested primary.

And yet I found a way to register somewhere that makes Massachusetts look red on the map. John Kerry won 90% of the 2004 presidential vote in the District. 90%! Even if Senator Obama is favored in a city filled with blacks and people with college degrees, he'll be hard-pressed to top 90%.

Tomorrow will be the only day on record where I kind of want to live in Virginia. Out of the three primaries tomorrow, Virginia seems to be the one where Senator Clinton has a fighting chance. Voting in close elections is always more fun and, unlike most of my peers, I'm a Hillary supporter. It feels good to vote for someone who might actually win. Unlike, say, throwing away your mayoral primary vote on Marie Johns.

But we have a presidential vote that matters! Hurray! This may sound lame, but I am genuinely excited for voting tomorrow. I hope you share my enthusiasm. Even you naive Obama supporters.