Reading a recent post by a good friend of mine has me thinking about my vote in November. I don't really like to talk about politics much, mainly because I don't feel that I can express my opinions on the subject eloquently. Now most of my friends know where I sit for the most part, slightly left of center. Sometimes however I wish I were more extreme in my views as that would make it so much easier to make a decision on who to vote for. I have to admit, I can live with whoever wins the election in November. Ok, I have to live with it. What other choice do I have? I, unlike my mother, am not one of those people who has wasted the last four years bitching and moaning about the outcome of the 2000 election. What good can it do? If I hear her say how Bush was selected, not elected, one more time, I think I will scream. While I don't agree with many of Bush's policies, there are aspects of his administration that I do agree with.
To many, I may look like I am completely decided on the upcoming election, but I still have doubts about my candidate. I admit, this whole swift-boat issue has me questioning the truthfulness of Kerry, although I also have doubts about Bush's ability to tell the truth all of the time. I may be registered as a Democrat, but I am largely an independent voter. In the three presidential elections in which I have voted I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans. Only one out of those three times did the person for whom I voted win the election.
My main problem in this election is that I don't feel that I really fit into either of the two major political groups entirely well. I tend to agree with the Democrats on many social issues, but there are some with which I agree more strongly with the Republicans. I suppose I could try to find a third-party candidate who better reflects my feelings on the issues, but in our two-party system I would essentially be wasting my vote. Oh I suppose it would "send a message" to the major parties, but they'll just ignore it. As I said earlier, if I had stronger convictions one way or the other, deciding who would be the better President would be a much easier decision.
1 comment:
I can relate completely to what you're saying. I have my doubts as well, but these were the choices we were given, and this is the world that made it that way.
I wish I had better options. But, given a choice between a man who who has demonstrated at least a desire (and, I believe, a fair competence) to deal with the big issue of the day realistically, or a man who has shown no such inclination in a consistent manner, my decision is obvious.
But that's just my line of reasoning. One thing I know about you and respect, is that whichever decision you make, it will be well thought-out, and not just a knee-jerk toeing of any specific party line.
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