#34 Why We Must Vote in November: Kathleen Sebelius' Dad. And Many Other Reasons

True, I don't sleep much. And true, I have just posted two entries to this blog in about two hours. But they're listed on two different dates, and they discuss two kind-of-different topics, so it's okay.

Seriously, let me tell you about Kathleen Sebelius’ dad, John J. Gilligan. Sebelius, you may remember from some of my earlier posts, is the Democratic governor of Kansas, a very Republican state, and has been mentioned as a possible Obama running mate. I think she’s great, but putting her on the ticket would not carry Kansas for the Democrats, so from that very practical point of view she shouldn’t be the VP candidate.

But this post is about her dad, John Gilligan. When I was voting in Ohio, as a graduate student at Ohio State, the governors were limited to two consecutive terms. After I left Ohio, Republican James Rhodes completed his second consecutive term, and Democrat John Gilligan was elected in November 1970. He was a very fine governor of Ohio from January 1971 to January 1975. When he came up for reelection in November 1974, Rhodes was again eligible to run, and did so.

I bring this story up for its relevance to the current presidential election.

All the polls indicated a strong sweep for Gilligan against Rhodes. Significant numbers of citizens of Cuyahoga County, i.e., basically Cleveland, didn’t vote. In fact, about two hundred thousand Cuyahoga County and other northern Ohio residents, most of them Democrats, stayed home apparently thinking that Gilligan had it wrapped up, and their votes weren’t needed. Rhodes won by fewer than 100,000 votes.

Several pundits (does that word really consist of “pun”—playing with words—and “dits”—short for ditzy?) are now beginning to view the upcoming election as a blowout for Obama. Wrong. Nothing is a blowout until the votes have actually been cast and counted. If all the new young Democrats vote who have participated in the primaries and caucuses, and don’t sit home thinking that Obama has it wrapped up, and if latent racism isn’t an issue, then Yes I agree Obama should win. If they don’t vote, he may indeed not win.

But we must leave nothing to chance. In honor of Kathleen Sebelius’ dad, we must vote in November. And for many, many other reasons.