I don’t know who I’m voting for. I am one of those great undecided voters that politicians salivate over. I liked Bush as governor of Texas and overall I think he did okay as president. Great? Mmm, not exactly, but I’m not totally dissatisfied either. I respected Bush because he never really seemed to care what other people thought. He didn’t run his office by the polls and that is why I voted for him. I’m not an expert at government or international affairs or the economy that is why I have a president. I don’t want him to take my opinion I want him to listen to his advisors, his experts and make his own opinion. Bush did that – whether I liked it or not he did that — I can respect that.
I’ve never cared for Obama. Don’t get me wrong he seems like a swell guy and if he had at least completed one term as a senator before running I think I would have more faith in his abilities. However, he strikes me as an idealist who will be crushed by the sheer enormity of the Washington political machine. I think like Clinton he will tell me everything I WANT to hear but never really level with me. He’s a wonderful speaker, a great orator, but I don’t have a lot of faith in his abilities. It’s great to talk about making huge sweeping changes but in reality none of it will happen. I am the only one who remembers Bill Clinton holding up the “national health care” card during his state of the union address promising us that we will all have them by the end of the year. Yeah, I haven’t gotten mine either. I’m not saying he didn’t try but Bill and Hillary are far more politically connected and astute than Obama and they couldn’t get it done. I don’t have a lot of hope for Obama’s promises. And without his big ideas there just isn’t much there. Come back in 8 years and I’ll think about it.
I like state governors. I think being a state governor is the best experience a politican can have before running for president. If we think of the US presidency like any other job you would want somebody who has taken on increasingly greater government responsibilities and state governors have done that. I think that is what made Bill Clinton well qualified, I think it is what made Ronald Reagan well qualified, and I think it is what made Bush well qualified. As a result Sarah Palin has more credibility with me. I like her — really, I do. Perhaps I like her because she’s a mom and I can relate to that. Perhaps I like her because she’s saucy, rebellious and from Alaska. I like her because she’s shown a pattern of taking on increasingly large amounts of responsibility and I can respect that.
However, I’m not sold on McCain. Again, seems like a great guy. He really does seem smart, and pretty moral. I think he does do what he thinks is best. However, politics calls for diplomacy and making friends with those we hate and I’m not sure he’s capable of that. I come from a long line of hot-heads and I know what that means. That means being a bull in a china shop socially and right now I’m not sure we can afford that as a country. I love what he’s done with campaign reform, and trying to tame the special interests in Washington. I cannot even imagine the experiences he’s had in Vietnam and I do think military experience lends credibility to any candidate but I just don’t view him as an inspiring leader.
So here I stand. Undecided. I have a dreaded disdain for people lumping Republicans into a bucket of bible-thumping-uneducated-conservative-pinheads and I also cannot stand those who lump Democrats into a bucket of give all the money to the poor-never go to war- hippies, who all hate God and have college degrees. I just don’t see our country being that black and white.
Oy! What is a girl to do?
I totally agree with your synopsis of the candidates. You will do what you have always done. You will think abut things and then do what you think is best. I have always had total confidence in you and support you even when I disagree with your decisions. I expect you to stand by your principles and not be intimidated by a bunch of hollering.
It almost sounds like fence sitting, but I know where you’re coming from. It’s hard to make a choice. I too, believe that Obama is an idealist. He SOUNDS good, but I’ve always been told, that if it’s too good to be believed, it probably is. And as for McCain, well, it sounds like he had ulterior motives for hiring on the female senator. My question is “why?” why did he put HER forward before others? I don’t have that answer yet. It just makes it all the harder for people to vote confidently.
You’re leaving out the rest of government by only focusing on presidents, Beth.
The Clintons had a Republican congress – both the House and Senate – led by Gingrich and crew. They obstructed the health care initiative.
Then when Bill thought with his penis – a silly thing, but not the constitutional violation that Bush’s FISA was – his second term was ruined by the same congress’ puritanical impeachment proceedings.
Contrast that with George W. Bush’s presidency. He had a Republican congress for all but the last year – and managed to mismanage the economy, foreign policy, world opinion, the constitution, and the environment over the past 8 years in ways even conservatives (real ones who know what the word means, traditionally) decry.
Obama will have an advantage the Clintons didn’t have: a House and Senate that are from his party. That gives health care and other issues an historic chance for reform this time around.
I’m not a screaming Obama fan, but I want health care and a more mature foreign policy too (and as an Army vet, I trust Obama to take care of the troops with better policies than Bush and McCain did, and you can Google their votes of Veteran’s benefits to see how shameful they were).
And Palin strikes me as plain scary. Another person who thinks she knows what God wants, and who also tried to ban books in her city’s schools.
The choices seem so clear to me. But that’s just me. 🙂