A Taste of Democracy

Khalil reflects on the campaign and contemplates his Election Night plans.

By Khalil Hymore

Yay! It's Election Day! Scott and I set our alarm clocks for 5:30 AM to get up early and go vote! We thought we were being so clever too, getting up early to beat the lines. The joke was on us, because there was already a long queue waiting for us at good ole' P.S. 85 in Astoria, Queens when we arrived at 5:50 AM. Nonetheless, we were happy to wait and pull the lever for the next President of The United States. I have to admit, though, once I pulled that lever I felt a touch sad that it was over. Never has an election, from the primaries to the general election, been so engaging (Politico seems to agree). You certainly can't complain about voter apathy in 2008 (don't forget to visit WE Vote '08)!

After voting Scott and I made our way back home with our pup, Sophie (she was quite a hit at the polls, until they almost threw us out--no dogs allowed, who knew?), sipping our free Starbucks election day coffee (swing by today after you vote and show them your "I Voted" sticker and you'll get a free cup of brew!) I got to thinking about politics and food...well, that, and the free election day ice cream cone I'll be enjoying later at Ben & Jerry's. As soon as I got home, I typed each of the candidates' names into Google, plus the word "food." Huh...I can sign up to be an official Obama Food Taster! Cool!

"Barack Obama" plus "John McCain" plus "food" yielded some interesting results. Apparently, I was not the only person searching for this type of information. Sogoodblog.com, a humorous food blog, has a number of posts devoted to the candidates' food related ephemera: Barack Obama's favorite foods, John McCain's favorite eats, Obama O's & Cap'n McCain's cereal, and even Hillary Clinton's favorite dishes and Sarah Palin's Kickin Mooseburger Helper. Today, So Good blog has a cute photo collage urging people to get out the vote.

Further Googling turned up election themed recipes from the new Food Network Magazine, which just hit newsstands (it's great by the way--check it out!), for a Barack Obama Pizza Burger and a John McCain Chicken Queso Burger. Speaking of Food Network, I also found an old Huffington Post article from April which claims that the McCain campaign plagiarized recipes from Food Network's website and posted them on John McCain's website as "McCain Family Recipes!" Egad! I always give credit where credit is due.

So, what are your Election Day plans? Scott and I are going to be glued to the television all day, since we both have the day off. I am planning a nice dinner for us, simple and even patriotic--roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad. For dessert, I've created an All American Cheddar Apple Pie. I know a lot of people are going to be partying and whooping it up, but I am happy to have a quiet evening at home, with my fingers crossed that MY candidate makes to the White House!