I’m only a moderate Democrat, and a slight one at that, meaning I mostly vote for Dem’s, but throw in some Republican and third party candidates too. I’ve been reading all of this media lately about how everything in the country is Obama’s fault, from the economy to the BP oil spill. And I don’t buy any of that – not at all.
Research is important, and before I vote, I research both sides of an issue, including each candidate before making a decision. The decision between McCain and Obama was the hardest choice I have ever made in an election. For the first time in my life, even until the day of the election, I was still undecided.
McCain is a hero, and I admire him greatly. In fact, I think he is the most heroic public figure we have, no matter how anyone else feels about him. I was really excited when I heard he was running for office, because I’d finally get a chance to vote for him in a way it counted. I truly thought he’d make a fine President, and was definitely worthy of being one. He would’ve been the first Republican President I’d ever voted for.
But when I stood in the booth, information that I’d read and heard on both candidates was pouring through my head. I went through the rest of the election form picking people for the other offices before I actually marked which President to vote for. Did I trust Obama as a person? No. He was much too slick. Did I trust McCain as a person? Yes, absolutely. Did I trust that both candidates would do the best job they could for the country? Yes, I did. Palin versus Biden? Either way, I thought they were both weak vice-presidential candidates.
(If Obama had Lieberman as a vice-presidential candidate, my decision might have been even more difficult.)
So, as I was standing in the voting booth, taking way too long I might add – I thought about where the country was, and where it needed to be in the next four years. I thought of how bad the economy was, and how everyone I knew and loved was having difficulty either at work, or finding work after being laid off. I thought about how each candidate would respond to the economic crisis. I also thought about foreign politics, and the world’s viewpoint of us right now, and what it would take to change it.
And then I voted for Barack Obama.
I voted for him over a hero like McCain, because I knew that Obama was smart enough to get us out of this mess. He has been an advocate most of his life, and had lots of ideas for how to improve and make things better. Obama promised in his campaign, one important thing, “Change.” If our country had been doing well, I would’ve voted for McCain hands down – but since there were so many things in our country that required innovative thinking, and yes change, I voted for Obama.
McCain would’ve kept the status quo, which in a different time would’ve been great. Obama challenges the status quo, and while I don’t agree with many of his decisions, I still support him because he is active, and he is doing for our country what we asked him to. (I would not be at all surprised to find in future history books that his actions have prevented worse tragedies, such as a repeat of the Great Depression.)
And somehow the past few years, Obama has earned my loyalty. I couldn’t tell you how or why, especially with the complaints that I have against him. I DO think he’s spending way too much money and time on foreign soil when we need both of those things here. I do think he’s flawed – but he’s human too, and I believe, doing the best he can. And at the end of the day, Obama is this century’s JFK, and I admire him.
