Time to Vote. (Blog #4 11/4/08)

I'm not a very politically passionate person. I admit I don't pay as much attention as I should to many of the local elections, where I suspect those elections may have greater impact on my day-to-day life than the national ones do. I think I've been fortunate to live outside the United States for this election. It's been nice not being barraged non-stop with all the hype, and it's been very interesting to see the process through the filter of other nationalities.

Watching the election mess of 2000 was very hard. I didn't like the 2004 election, either. I felt that Bush was doing a terrible job, but I really believed that John Kerry was not the man to be president, either. That was the year I pulled the lever for a man only because he wasn't George Bush.

As a senator there were aspects of John McCain's voting record I liked. A conservative, yes, but one that wasn't afraid to ruffle party feathers in a vote. I don't believe he will maintain that maverick status as a president, however, and I can't support the conservative agenda on so many issues. I think choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate was a colossal mistake and I think if he loses, that choice will be a significant factor. I believe there are smart, highly educated, conservative women out there who would have been an asset to his campaign. Sarah Palin was not that asset.

I was slow to warm to Obama. I do think he's polished and smooth...I have wondered at times if there was more style than substance. Despite her husband and past questionable dealings, I was leaning more toward Hillary Clinton in the early days. She may not be warm and fuzzy, but she is intelligent, and her Senate voting record and bipartison reports from other senators showed that she had learned from a lot of early mistakes and had become an excellent senator.

I like this poster. I think I am too cynical to believe that one person can effect the kind of change this country needs. I truly hope that this man can. I didn't vote for him the way I voted for Kerry. I think there serious issues facing our country, internally and internationally, and his approach and his views are what I want for our country. I don't agree with him on some issues--there are some social issues where I am far more conservative than my typically more liberal leanings. But those issues that matter the most to me--I think his way is the best chance we have at this point in time. Our country is in massive debt, homeowners are foreclosing, and banks are failing. We are engaged in a war that should never have started, one that now can't be ended. We are sliding down a slippery slopes with our fundamental rights to privacy in a time when disagreeing or speaking out labels you as unpatriotic or anti-American. We are trying to build a fence around our country on a border that can't be contained in an attempt to keep us safe. We have been living in a state of fear for years--fear of immigrants taking our jobs, fear of terrorists, of losing our jobs, of losing our homes, and this country should be about far far more than that. We have lived for 8 years with a president who can't or won't lead during a period of history when we desperately needed someone to look to.

And so I cast my vote for Barack Obama. Because I hope--hope for a better future for my children, hope for a better life for those who are struggling to stay afloat in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, hope for those who come because they still believe in the things we say we stand for--opportunity, freedom, equality. And if you believe this, and believe that the other guy is the way to get there, then by all means, get out and vote for him. But don't shirk your responsibility. The citizens of the Congo, of Zimbabwe, of Iraq, of Cuba, of countries all over the world, desperately want to do what we can so easily do today. DO IT.