prezidenshul pawlitix
It's confession time:
I think I'm a closet Obama supporter.
Throughout this whole campaign, I've been studiously independent and undecided. Up to this very morning, in fact. I've maintained since the beginning that neither candidate has convinced me that he posseses the necessary ability to lead.
See, I think people need to vote on more than issues. Yes, it's important that a president will run the country in a way that agrees with the people's opinions (or rather, the majority of people's opinions), but I believe that it's better to have a good president with whom I may disagree on some issues than a bad president who thinks the same way I do. So I try not to vote solely on those "hot button topics," but to balance the important issues with the much more nebulous idea of character: how a candidate would conduct himself once in office. Whether he can make ethical decisions, regardless of whether or not I would have made the same decision. The process that goes into making the decision is, I believe, much more important.
I still don't think Obama is everything he's cracked up to be. He's clearly intelligent and well-spoken and I think he has a strong moral compass. But I also think people have gotten distracted by the marvelous way he's run his campaign and the huge fanbase that's grown up around him. I like his message of hope and change; I'm just not sure what it actually means, and I'm not sure he'll be capable of effecting all the change he's promised.
I think McCain is somewhat underrated. I don't believe that a McCain presidency would be "four more years of the last eight years." I think he's been a good senator and that he too has a strong moral compass. I don't think the age problem is as big a problem as people make it out to be. On the other hand, I think he's made some decisions over the past few months (as in his choice of VP) that display a serious lapse in judgement.
Because I'm suspicious of the political system in general, I don't really believe that *any* president is capable of making the changes they say they will. I think people say what they have to to get elected, and that even if they truly believe what they're saying -- truly believe that when they reach the White House they're going to be able to shake things up -- by the time they make it they're too caught up in becoming a president to actually be a president. Washington is a sticky political scene to be trapped in, and I think politicians end up trapped in it whether they want to or not... whether they decide to or not.
Maybe I'm being too cynical about our political process. (I'm generally not a very cynical person.) Maybe change really is possible to the extent I want it to be. So so so many things need to change; I'm just not convinced that they will within the next eight years, even if Obama is elected.
But that being said... I don't know what's going on with me... but I was looking at an election map on npr.org, and saw how far Obama was thought to be in predicted electoral votes, and I found myself getting excited. Maybe this truly is a turning point for our country. Maybe millions of people haven't misplaced their hope and faith, as I was a little afraid they had. Maybe I'm wrong about the political ass-kissing that goes on, maybe a good president really will be able to change thing around. Maybe I just didn't want to jump on such a popular bandwagon out of some attempt to portray myself as an independent thinker who goes against the grain... but maybe the bandwagon has been right for the past two years.
I'm actually starting to hope so.
I think I'm a closet Obama supporter.
Throughout this whole campaign, I've been studiously independent and undecided. Up to this very morning, in fact. I've maintained since the beginning that neither candidate has convinced me that he posseses the necessary ability to lead.
See, I think people need to vote on more than issues. Yes, it's important that a president will run the country in a way that agrees with the people's opinions (or rather, the majority of people's opinions), but I believe that it's better to have a good president with whom I may disagree on some issues than a bad president who thinks the same way I do. So I try not to vote solely on those "hot button topics," but to balance the important issues with the much more nebulous idea of character: how a candidate would conduct himself once in office. Whether he can make ethical decisions, regardless of whether or not I would have made the same decision. The process that goes into making the decision is, I believe, much more important.
I still don't think Obama is everything he's cracked up to be. He's clearly intelligent and well-spoken and I think he has a strong moral compass. But I also think people have gotten distracted by the marvelous way he's run his campaign and the huge fanbase that's grown up around him. I like his message of hope and change; I'm just not sure what it actually means, and I'm not sure he'll be capable of effecting all the change he's promised.
I think McCain is somewhat underrated. I don't believe that a McCain presidency would be "four more years of the last eight years." I think he's been a good senator and that he too has a strong moral compass. I don't think the age problem is as big a problem as people make it out to be. On the other hand, I think he's made some decisions over the past few months (as in his choice of VP) that display a serious lapse in judgement.
Because I'm suspicious of the political system in general, I don't really believe that *any* president is capable of making the changes they say they will. I think people say what they have to to get elected, and that even if they truly believe what they're saying -- truly believe that when they reach the White House they're going to be able to shake things up -- by the time they make it they're too caught up in becoming a president to actually be a president. Washington is a sticky political scene to be trapped in, and I think politicians end up trapped in it whether they want to or not... whether they decide to or not.
Maybe I'm being too cynical about our political process. (I'm generally not a very cynical person.) Maybe change really is possible to the extent I want it to be. So so so many things need to change; I'm just not convinced that they will within the next eight years, even if Obama is elected.
But that being said... I don't know what's going on with me... but I was looking at an election map on npr.org, and saw how far Obama was thought to be in predicted electoral votes, and I found myself getting excited. Maybe this truly is a turning point for our country. Maybe millions of people haven't misplaced their hope and faith, as I was a little afraid they had. Maybe I'm wrong about the political ass-kissing that goes on, maybe a good president really will be able to change thing around. Maybe I just didn't want to jump on such a popular bandwagon out of some attempt to portray myself as an independent thinker who goes against the grain... but maybe the bandwagon has been right for the past two years.
I'm actually starting to hope so.