Country first. Yes we can. Joe the Plumber. Joe Six-pack. Reverend Jeremiah Wright. President George W. Bush. Change we need. This entire election can be summarized in four names: John McCain, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

This is it-the final 24 hours of a process that began two years ago. All the ads, all the pundits, all the rallies, all the funds, all the passion come down to this moment. We are in the crux of American history. The best part is that voters like you can make the difference. “We the people” have the privilege and ability to choose who our next leader will be. Don’t waste that opportunity.

YOU NEED TO VOTE. I am ineligible to do so and I highly regret that. Often times, I’ve pondered making a fake I.D. just to be able to vote, much like the character of Brian Johnson in The Breakfast Club. However, I’ve abandoned that plan and have decided to persuade you to vote. This election is too important for you to not vote, and this election is too important for you to be frustrated by the long lines at voting locations tomorrow. It’s worth it! Our country now faces a laundry list of problems: economic struggle, the War on Terror, healthcare conflicts, dependence on foreign oil and an overall lack of community among the American people. Your vote, not only in the presidential election, but also in the local and state elections as well, can help improve our country and restore our nation’s standing globally.

While tensions run high for both candidates, Senator Obama is facing a personal struggle, for it brings me great sadness to report the loss of his 86-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, late last night after a long battle with cancer. Dunham raised Obama, and helped shape who he is as a person, and a politician. At a rally today, Obama described his grandmother as “humble” and called for all the “quiet heroes all across America” to join together and get out the vote tomorrow. Also at this rally, Obama wiped a tear from his eye, a true sign this woman truly impacted his life and character. Her passing came at quite an inopportune time, for she did not get the chance to see the results of all of Barack Obama’s hard work on Election Day. However, at least Obama was able to suspend his campaign for a short while for him to travel to Hawaii to spend some last moments with her last weekend, unlike when Obama’s mother passed away at age 53 and Obama didn’t get there in time. He often describes that incident as his “biggest mistake.”

On the right side, even if John McCain won all the battleground states (Montana, New Mexico, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina and Florida), he would still come up short with 247 electoral votes, compared to Obama’s 291. Two states McCain must win include Pennsylvania and Ohio, a state that no Republican president has lost. Perhaps the McCain campaign can work its magic, and eliminate the seven percentage point difference between himself and Senator Obama, according to CNN’s Poll of Polls. At least Governor Palin has now been cleared in the state trooper probe by the ethics committee in Alaska, although the timing is suspicious considering tomorrow is Election Day. However, the events that surface in the time leading up to Election Day is always suspicious, such as George W. Bush’s DUI received at age 30 that surfaced the last weekend of the 2000 election.

As the Incubus song “Drive” says, “Whatever tomorrow brings, I’ll be there.” The fate of our nation lies in the hands of voters and electors, and the results of all the efforts over the past 2 years all come down to tomorrow. The bottom line is, no matter who wins, this will be an historic election.

** To find out where your assigned polling location is, please visit http://maps.google.com/vote.