Let us save our once-great nation, and vote today

By Armstrong Williams - 11/06/12 10:26 AM ET

Well, we're all relieved that today is the day to make our vote count and wait in those long lines to make a difference in our once-great nation. Actually, I was at my polling place in Washington, D.C., at 5:45 a.m. and remained the only voter in line until 6:41 a.m. Four years ago I arrived at the polls at 5 a.m. and the lines were wrapped around the block. What has changed? Maybe early voting does affect voter lines on Election Day, given which jurisdiction you live in.

For over a year, we have heard partisan bickering and seen billions of dollars spent (for a job that pays six figures).We knew that this was going to be an ugly and expensive campaign (those two adjectives go together more often than you would think). This expectation has, unfortunately, proven correct.

Just like every other presidential election, people who are paid lots of money to do so are telling us that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. This time they’re right. The future of the country really is at stake, and, because of America’s unique and exceptional role in the world, so is the future of the entire planet.

But I thank God that it won’t be decided by the pundits, the talking heads, the super-PACs, the bundlers, the journalists or even the politicians. It will be, to the glory of this country, decided by the people. In one evening, half of the Beltway will look foolish, and half will look prescient; at least half of the country will be terribly disappointed. The world will go on turning, but it will never be the same.

None of the ink that has been spilled, the money spent, the ads cut, the incessant blabbering done matters anymore. None of it will matter, except what the American people decide today, in one collective act, the closest thing that we have as a political body to a sacrament.

We have all the data we need for today's voting. Imagine if you had voted early: In some states, some people voted before that crucial first debate. I’m sure at least some of them changed their minds after it was too late. The rest of us, however, know more than enough and are more than prepared to cast our ballot for the better of the candidates throughout this day.