The Diary
of
Anne Ku

9 November 2000 Thursday

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

How does one decide whom to vote for? Especially when it's THAT close. Especially when one vote could make a difference.

Since I've never voted before, I can only postulate. I ran for sophomore class president in high school. Even though my opponent had a much better campaign and gave a more powerful speech, I won. I still don't understand to this day, why I won. I didn't even enjoy being elected or being president, for the vice president and the secretary were both on my rival's side. So I had a split cabinet, I could say.

In my senior year in high school, I promised my mother that I would not overdo it in extracurricular activities. As a result, I decided not to run for any office. However, as I campaigned for my neighbour to be elected vice president while only one person ran for president, I thought about what the school needed. So in the spur of the moment, just after the rally speeches had ended, I suddenly got up and asked the moderator Mr Scales if I may speak. On impulse, it seemed, I declared that I was running for the student government president because the school needed me. Much to my surprise, I won. Without a campaign at all.

I've wondered since then why people voted the way they did, whether my high school years would have been different. I wonder now, whether it really matters if Bush or Gore won. Would it be such a different world?

Yesterday

Tomorrow

Related diary entry:

Bush vs Gore