Political Message Boards Destroy My SOUL!
I've been trying to keep out of the whole politics deal, but my attempts at civil conversation at the caller.com message boards have met with name-calling and insanity, so I thought I might write my two cents here:
I am registered as an Independent voter. There's a reason for that, and this is that I won't be beholden to a political party. I will admit to registering Democrat the last couple elections to vote in their primaries, but I don't consider myself of one party or the other. (A few years ago, in fact, I posted a blog entry in which I hypothesized that America was not ready to elect a woman--Hillary Clinton--and a "black guy with a funny name". I stand happily corrected).
I am liberal on some issues (abortion, gay marriage) & conservative on some issues (border security, death penalty), as I believe a great many people are. And I am tired of hearing rumors and slanders and mud being slung.
In 2000, I would've voted for John McCain had he gotten the Republican nod. I think we might've been better off if he had. But he didn't, so I voted Gore.
In 2004 I voted Kerry--not because he especially excited me, but because I had spent nights literally WEEPING over what George Bush was doing. Sadly, I think this was the reason a lot of people voted for John Kerry.
Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein. He went to Muslim schools in predominantly Muslim countries. SO WHAT?
John McCain has been married several times and has admitted to cheating on his wives. Sara Palin's daughter is pregnant. SO WHAT? (Though in the interest of full disclosure I will admit that I find it ironic that the party of the "moral majority" is beset with such problems--but I digress).
So here: if you want to vote for someone, do it for the right reasons. Go to their websites (www.barackobama.com | www.johnmccain.com) and look up their stances on the issues. If you don't trust them (and their PR), visit any of THESE sights for a nonpartisan listing of facts:
http://www.vote411.org/
http://www.votesmart.org/
http://www.votegopher.com/