Conformity Magazine - December 2008 - (Page 6)

Editor’s Note The End of Apathy? Depending on your perspective, the two year-long race for the White House was either endlessly fascinating, or merely endless. But now that the race is over, there are a few key statistics that characterized the 2008 presidential race that may give us reason for optimism as we look ahead to an uncertain future. First, this year’s presidential contest will go down in history as the most expensive campaign ever. By one account, more than $2 billion dollars was spent over the past 24 months on radio, television, print and Internet advertising, and on campaign rallies and town hall meetings across the country. That’s just about $8 for every U.S. citizen! It certainly seems like a lot of money to spend. But, as a bi-product of that expenditure, voter registration roles surged in the year leading up to the election. According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, there were 185 million Americans registered to vote this year, up from 42 million from just four years ago. Then, there were the millions of Americans who watched the 20 separate debates among the Democratic candidates and an almost comparable number of debates on the Republican side, not to mention the four president and vice-president candidates debates. At a time when television contest shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars seem to consume the viewing public’s attention, the 2008 presidential primary and election cycle became the country’s most watch TV serial reality show. By the close of the voting poles on November 4th, an estimated 136 million Americans had cast a vote for president, an astonishing 64.1% of the entire eligible voting population, beating the previous post-World War II record of 63.8% set back in the historic 1960 contest between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. And that record turnout included between 22-24 million voters between the ages of 18-29 years, hopefully putting to rest once and for all the lament about the lack of engagement by young voters in our country’s political process. © Terrance Emerson | Dreamstime.com So, for this casual observer, Americans of all stripes were engaged in this presidential campaign in a way we haven’t seen in the past 40 years. It’s certainly true that too much energy was spent distorting a candidate’s record, or conflating a candidate’s ties to this radical or that lobbyist, or scaring voters about the “truth” behind a candidate’s program. But, at the same time, we’ve all benefited from the discussions and debates about the challenges and opportunities that face our country in the years ahead and, as a result, have developed a deeper understanding of the complexities that underlie seemingly simple issues that are all too often reduced to sound bites and bumper stickers. I’m hopeful that this historic presidential campaign will be remembered not just for the candidates themselves, but also for our unprecedented engagement in the electoral process, and for our willingness as a people to develop a deeper understanding of the major challenges facing our country. We’ll certainly need to continue to demonstrate that engagement and that commitment to understanding in the months and years ahead! Bill von Achen Managing Editor Conformity DeCember 2008 http://www.Dreamstime.com

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Conformity Magazine - December 2008 Contents Editor's Note FCC Warns Regulatory Fee Payers About Potential "Phishing" Commission Prowls the Web to Enforce Its Regulations First DTV Rollout Initiated in Wilmington, NC New Standards List Released for the EU's Directive on the Safety of Toys ESD Association Call for Papers ESDA. JEDEC Announce Standards Development Cooperation Commission Releases Data on Local Telephone Competition The Future of ESD Testing ESD Open Forum Emerging Issues in Standards: China RoHS: One Year and Counting Challenges in Testing: Revisiting 10-Meter and 3-Meter Radiated Emission Measurements Design Fundamentals: Meeting the Shielding Challenges of Injection-Molded Plastics Focus On...Microwave Absorbers Buyer's Guide FDA Recalls Automated External Defibrillators FDA Revises Guidance on Medical Device Tracking Guidance Document Safety of Passive Implants Released FDA Offers Guidance on Marketing Diagnostic Ultrasound Systems EU Commission Issues Correction on Machinery Directive Standards Other CPSC Actions in the News Product Reviews IEC Standards Update UL Standards Update Looking Back: Items from Past Issues of Conformity Advertisers

Conformity Magazine - December 2008

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