Dawidziak: Another reason to be thankful

Most people will take a little time between the turkey and the football tomorrow to list the things they're grateful for. Although it won't make many lists, one of the things I suspect people are very thankful for is that campaign season is finally over.

It's suspicious that a uniquely American holiday was placed on the calendar roughly two weeks after Election Day. Let's remember that Election Day was fixed as the first Tuesday after the first Monday by Congress in 1845. Thanksgiving wasn't scheduled as the last Thursday in November until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln did so by proclamation. And Thanksgiving's final designation as the fourth Thursday in November wasn't made official until 1941, by Franklin Roosevelt.

Sure, the first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Plymouth colonists in 1621 was after their first successful harvest. This doesn't in any way set the date where it is today, however, as many historians believe a more likely time for the autumn feast was mid-October. Besides, the pilgrims couldn't possibly have imagined how much more future generations of Americans would have to be thankful for . . . like the end of annual political campaigns.

No more malicious mailings -- maybe six a day -- stuffing the mailbox. No more idiotic 30-second television commercials bombarding you with baseless charges about one candidate or another. No more scary music radio ads assailing your ears as you drive. No more being accosted at the grocery store or train station by hopeful candidates. No more annoying phone calls that you hang up on in the first five seconds once you realize you've been called by a machine. It's enough to make you sink to your knees and thank the Lord above for deliverance from these plagues.

It's certainly inconceivable to imagine Thanksgiving coming before Election Day. The win-at-any-cost attitude and vitriolic attacks of many campaigns are hardly conducive to pious feelings of gratitude.

Also, the colonists were profoundly grateful to God because they had beaten the odds and survived. They'd done it with the help of the Wampanoag people and by working together. That's why they wanted to come together in a spirit of unity, to celebrate and give thanks. Today, this communal spirit, celebrating the successes and blessings of a united nation, could not sincerely happen in the middle of the hostile divisiveness of campaign season. It's hard enough to pull together for the good of the country after the campaigns have just ended.

So, let's all enjoy a brief respite from the partisan bickering and gridlock that have come to be the modus operandi of how we do campaigns and how we run government. For one day at least, let's imagine and hope for the ideal of a united country working together to try to fix the ills that beset our nation and the world. Make the most of it while you can because the federal campaigns will be ratcheting up in no time.

The presidential primary calendar has been moved up, with the Iowa caucuses now scheduled for Jan. 3, 2012. The Republicans have been holding debates for months with candidates attacking each other and all of them attacking President Barack Obama. As sure as you can depend on bargain-hunters descending on the stores to begin their holiday shopping this week, you can count on the heat steadily rising in the presidential race right after Thanksgiving weekend.

So in the spirit of the holiday let us pray, "Thank God it's over for the 2011 vote, and Lord, strengthen us to survive the next 12 months."

Michael Dawidziak is a political consultant and pollster.