Ambassador Perry's Speeches

Election Day Exhibit for Kids (04 Nov 08)

Boys and girls, welcome and good afternoon.

First of all let me thank you all for joining us on this very important day.  Since arriving in Sierra Leone, I have had the pleasure of seeing your President start his job and excellent local council elections.  I am so happy to be able to share our pride in the Democratic.
This American election is unique for a few reasons.  First of all, by tomorrow morning we will either have the first woman Vice-President elect or the first African American President elect.  Either way, it will represent a huge step forward for the United States in terms of respect for our diversity. 

There are a few other notable achievements in this election.  We think that more Americans will vote in this election than any election in a long time, especially new voters & young voters.  In fact, some of you may not know that Senators Obama and McCain are not the only two individuals vying for the seat of President.  In fact, the United States always has other candidates representing other ideas.  In this election, the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and others are busy campaigning alongside the Democrats and Republicans.

We also have a record number of Americans who went to the polls early this year since they could vote at post offices, boards of election, and even at toll booth drive-ins and banks!  Better technology have caused many states to open polls in advance of Election Day to make sure that every American can vote.

We are really proud to see record numbers of youth participating in this election as voters and activists.  As the future of our country, young people have a very important role to play.  Those who are old enough to vote have become a powerful force, and schoolchildren like you who are not yet voters have become educated and involved in the process.

Our program today will provide each of you the chance to learn about the unique aspects of our democratic process.  The most important message we can take is the importance of being united even if you disagree.  Our candidates disagree on many issues that will affect not only Americans in the next four years, but people all over the world.  In the end, though, regardless of how things went during the campaign, on January 20, 2009, the 45th President of the United States will be inaugurated, and he will be the President of every American, and we will remain a unified country.

I am pleased to invite you to learn, to watch the television coverage of Election Day, and to linger in our video room, where we will be showing programs on different aspects of the elections.

Thank you again for coming, and enjoy the program.