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By Bobby Ross Jr. | Religion Unplugged
For a journalist, Election Night typically means tight deadlines and pizza.
And, in my case, an occasional cake with lighted candles.
I celebrated my first birthday — although I don’t recall it — on Nov. 5, 1968.
That same Tuesday, Republican Richard Nixon defeated Democrat Hubert Humphrey to win election as the nation’s 37th president.
I celebrated my 29th birthday on Nov. 5, 1996.
I do recall it: My wife, Tamie, brought a vanilla sheet cake with stars-and-stripes icing to The Oklahoman’s newspaper office in Oklahoma City as I covered state House elections that night.
“Happy birthday, Bobby!” it read.
That same Tuesday, incumbent Democrat Bill Clinton — the nation’s 42nd president — won re-election over Republican Bob Dole and independent Ross Perot.
Lord willing, I’ll celebrate my 57th birthday on Nov. 5, 2024. Wow, where did all the time go?
This Tuesday marks the third presidential election of my lifetime to coincide with my birthday. Lucky me!
As in 1968, the 2024 race got a jolt when an incumbent Democrat dropped out: Lyndon B. Johnson then and Joe Biden now.
In each case, a sitting vice president entered the campaign late: Humphrey then and Kamala Harris now.
And as a Washington Post story recently noted, “there were two assassinations that year — Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy — and two attempts on (Republican Donald) Trump’s life this year.”
This column appears in the online magazine Religion Unplugged.
Shutterstock photo illustration
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 