Recall in an earlier post, I vowed not to vote this year because: 1. I could not vote for Obama due to policy disageeements; 2. I could not vote for McCain because of Palin; and 3. I could not vote for a 3rd Party candidate because they are jokes (Barr, Nader). Well, I decided that it was my civic duty (and the fact that I teach Government to a bunch of high schoolers) to vote. So I did early voting yesterday.
I stared at the screen for what seemed like an eternity, going over the entire last year of the campaign in my head. With many, many serious reservations I voted for...Obama. As a big John McCain fan since 2000, that was extremely difficult for me to do. I gave money to McCain in 2000, the only campaign that I have ever sent money. In many respects, he is still an admirable man. But he is not (deep down) alligned with his own party. It was a marriage of convenience that McCain was picked as the Republican candidate this year. Simply put, he was the only Republican with a chance, because he was the most un-Republican of the candidates running for his party's nomination. But it has been painful to watch McCain go back on his prior positions on issue after issue in order to make the Republican base comfortable. And then there is Palin.
Obama, while I still say he is dead wrong on Iraq and I am concerned with his prior associations (yes, there is something to the fact that he associated with Ayers, Wright, crazy catholic priest guy, and the rest), is a thoughtful and reflective man. What a nice contrast to the last eight years. I am hoping that once in office, he will have to move closer to the center, as is what usually happens (except for Bush in 2000, but 9/11 changed everything). I am gravely concerned with giving Obama a majority in the Senate and House.
For repentence, I then voted straight Republican or Libertarian the rest of the way to balance it out. If Obama is elected, he needs as much opposition as possible to put the brakes on some of his more extreme Leftist tendencies.
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- Dezmond
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- Dezmond is a jack of all topics, but master of none. An attorney/teacher by trade, he needs a creative outlet, hence this Blog.
5 comments:
Wow. That's a thoughtful post. I'm glad you voted, because I do think the government teacher in you would have regretted sitting it out. (I'm not usually a big Vote or Else kind of guy.)
As someone who's been vocally supportive of Obama (and who has been a fan of McCain's in the past), I hope he doesn't disappoint you/us, if elected. I honestly think he's more of a centrist than the opposition wants us to believe. I think you'll see at least a Republican or two in his cabinet, for instance....
Anyway, thanks for sharing.
I'm with you, Dez. I'm hoping for the best, but I'm worried about giving a majority to the Dems. Also worried that we're about to have to cut costs in a big way and Obama seems to want to give everybody free everythings. And the Hippies!!!
But he is, as you say, a reflective man. He's run an intelligent and morally serious campaign. He's taken the high ground and he's basically treated the American people like adults. Insofar as you can judge what kind of president a man would be from the way they campaign, he's reassured me. If I use the same standard to judge McCain, I have to assume his first act as president would be to firebomb Beijing.
The Republican Party has more or less lost its collective mind; they need a few years in the wilderness to get it together.
I figured that as a teacher your would be heavily behind Obama. And I disagree with your Bush not moving to the center after 2000. I think he is actually more liberal than Clinton was
Pocky, that is a stereotype that doesn't really hold true. At least in my teaching experience, I've come across as many conservatives as libs. Especially in San Antonio, since many teachers are ex-military. Those are all conservatives.
Dez,
I'm so glad you voted, and I'm glad you voted for the next President of the United States.
We are facing a lot of difficult challenges in the world today, but I am confident that we just took an important step toward a brighter future.
Yes we can!!!
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