Post Primary Philosophy

It's been a week since the Rhode Island primaries. The first twenty-four hours afforded me time to complete a sizeable business valuation engagement for a client owning full and partial interests in about thirty companies holding hundreds of millions of dollars in income producing residential properties. By week's end, my youngest son and I erected a good part of his tree house. My wife and I had cleared a walking/jogging path around our property line. Our youngest daughter had a school dance, sleep over and a softball tournament. This likely describes many Rhode Island families just getting on with their lives.

We've received many calls, letters and emails following Sheldon Whitehouse's win of the Democratic primary. Sentiments ranged from "you got your ass kicked" to "you ran an honorable race". What seemed a common theme was concern whether or not to vote for Senator Chafee in the general election. I ran because of the Iraq War and our failure to hold our government accountable is destabilizing our nation and our communities. Honor and humility are more important than hubris and partisan politics. Voting is a personal choice. My vote will be cast for the candidate whose actions, not television commercials, show he'll keep his promises and is concerned about Rhode Islanders' kitchen table issues.

Nope, I can't make sense out of the low voter support. Frankly, it does not matter now. Any theories about whether the "fix was in" or "I should have thrashed Sheldon's record" make very little difference after the fact. My plans for the next two weeks or two years are to support my family and the ideals that take this country forward. It's patriotic and common sense.