Published: May 07, 2008 04:39 pm      

West Virginia in the spotlight — Every vote crucial in Tuesday’s primary

It’s a new day in politics for West Virginia — and an exciting one at that. Not since John F. Kennedy campaigned for president in 1960 have Mountain State voters actually had a hand in selecting a presidential candidate.

Now, history is repeating itself.

Today, former President Bill Clinton will be in Mercer County campaigning for his wife, Hillary, who is locked in heated race with rival Democratic contender Barack Obama.

Clinton’s visit to Mercer County will be the first by a president since George H.W. Bush visited the Brushfork Armory in 2002 when his son George W. Bush was campaigning for the nation’s top office.

The national spotlight on West Virginia is certainly exciting for the people of the Mountain State. With most presidential nominees selected during the early round of primaries, few national media outlets bother to report what the people of the state are thinking, feeling or polling during our May primary.

Not this year. On Wednesday, surveys showed Hillary Clinton had a commanding lead over Obama in West Virginia. Rasmussenreports.com reported their latest telephone survey of the West Virginia race showed Clinton had the support of 56 percent of likely Democratic Primary voters, while Obama trailed with 27 percent. Seventeen percent were undecided.

However, that doesn’t mean the race is over. Roadside signs and campaign activists supporting Obama are flourishing across the southern counties — side-by-side with literature and promoters of the Clinton camp.

When you think about it, it’s a great day to be an American.

No matter your preference of candidate for the Democratic nomination, the Clinton-Obama battle is proof that people — even the “little people” — still have a voice in government.

Rich, poor, rural or cosmopolitan, each and every vote is crucial in this election. And that’s the way our forefathers envisioned the political structure of this country when they designed our blueprint for government while penning the Declaration of Independence and, later, the Constitution more than 200 years ago.

At that time — when Thomas Paine was changing the course of history with a simple book like “Common Sense” — our forefathers could not have imagined the frustration and cynicism that would one day invade the hearts and souls of the people, leading to an apathetic attitude toward our political process. A sad era, to be sure. But one we also believe soon will be relegated to the pages of history.

The Clinton-Obama battle has once again generated excitement, passion and enthusiasm in our election process — and not just among political aficionados.

Average Joes — and Josephines — are inspired by this race, and the possibility their vote will make a difference.

And that ideal is the concept that makes America — independent America, free America, red, white and blue and watermelon on the Fourth of July America — the greatness nation in the world.