If you believe in the power of voting, chances are you’re going to head to a polling place sometime between now and the end of the day to cast your ballot. You’ll probably be waiting a few minutes as well. With that in mind, we tossed together 10 election day pieces for you to save to Instagram/Pocket/Readability to distract you.
Curious what Obama and Romney are like away from the cameras? We got you covered. Skeptical of electronic voting? There’s a link for that. Want to revisit the specters of elections past? Let me help you out.
Wanna know how the presidential candidates spent their last days on the trail? Read here.
Worried about voter fraud? Take off the tin foil hat. Mother Jones says not to believe the hype.
Meanwhile, The New Republic argues fervently for the dissolution of the electoral college.
Michael Lewis’ profile of Obama from 2008 is an essential read, even if you don’t care much about politics. It’s just a well-written look into the life of the most important figure in America before he became the most important figure in America.
Mitt Romney is sometimes seen as a robotic stiff who can be just a shade too pragmatic, but a 2012 NY Times profile of the candidate shows a man who has suffered some adversity of his own and come away better for it.
Curious how Obama won the 2008 election over John McCain? Revisit Newsweek’s epic seven-part feature chock full of behind-the-scenes reporting.
Nearly everything written by Joan Didion is worth a glance, and her 1988 piece on the reality distortion of presidential campaigns is as sharp and astute as anything she’s written.
Hendrik Hertzberg is one of my personal favorite political writers, and his piece about Hurricane Sandy and its effect on the presidential campaign is about as much of a measured and well-reasoned take as you’ll find.
Did you get an I Voted sticker? Good job! The Atlantic argues in favor of its greater importance.
Curious what the Inauguration speech will sound like in January. Probably like this.
But these are just a few to get you started. What are you reading while in line? Are you reading anything at all? Are you even in line?
