Tuesday will be a day of optimism, progress and, no matter which candidate is elected, change. After the rallies and champagne and victory speeches, however, the last leg of President Bush’s presidency will run the White House.

Bush’s current “lame-duck” status stems from no one trusting his judgement, an unsuccessful economic bailout and the feeling that he’s been “phoning-in” the last few months of work.

“Both candidates should be making plans in advance for [transitioning] into the presidency,” said Alex Hari, junior political science major.

Bush actually is doing all he can to expedite the transition process on Inauguration Day. According to an Oct. 9 Reuters article, Bush signed an executive order to create the Presidential Transition Coordinating Council. The council will help transfer policies and grant security clearance to those who require it. A similar order was passed at the end of the Clinton administration. Still, the few months between the old president and the new president will be a limbo period. The upcoming months will be a giant waste of presidential time where U.S. citizens want Bush in office, and our new president won’t have executive power until February.

American love for instant gratification has motivated early voters to cast their ballots in the hopes of immediate change. And the wait feels like a betrayal to citizens who eagerly participate in the democratic process.

People are excited to cast their votes, and it takes a spectacularly terrible president like Bush for Americans to realize how important their vote is.

Plus, think about all the promises that senators John McCain and Barack Obama have given this country. Don’t we want to see them implemented right away? Plans for time-bomb issues like climate change and the economy will no doubt be more effective the sooner they are implemented.

Of course, the transition from the Bush years to the McCain or Obama years can’t happen all at once. If that was possible, the inauguration could happen as Bush’s moving van pulls away from the White House.

It’s easy to feel antsy about the next few months of old president/new president, but remember to focus on the optimism that Tuesday will bring. It will probably be the most important day in politics that any American will witness in their lifetime, and the day can’t come soon enough.