One More Thought On Tonite

I first really got into politics in the 1988 race for the White House (I was a huge Dukakis supporter at the time). Dan Quayle's daughter actually attended my elementary school until after the election and I remember that really made politics personal for me. For the last 20 years I've followed politics closely and despite getting upset from time-to-time over the winners and losers in various races it's hard for me to feel anything other than pride in my country tonight. The United States is a country where we elect our leaders. We have months of debate, but in the end we have an orderly (non-violent) transition of power. It's easy to live in the US and take that for granted, but if one is a student of history (and I fancy myself one) then it's not hard to find a plethora of examples (many recent) where this isn't the case. We're all very lucky to live in a country where we have the ability to pick the leaders that we want in power (even when the "other guy" wins).

I was very pleased with both the concession speech of McCain and the victory speech by Obama. As I said earlier, I certainly hope Obama is successful. This country is in a tough spot right now, but I hope Obama is able to lead us in the right direction. Despite the fact that I didn't vote for him tonight, I'd love to be in a position to vote for him in '12 -- that would say he (and the rest of our government) did a number of things right between now and then.

Why I Voted for McCain

I've considered this race over for some time, and I expect in the next couple of hours it will become official -- Barack Obama will be the next President of these United States. I haven't posted in a while (apparently since July) and I didn't think it was right to campaign on my blog, but I would like to explain why I voted the way I did. First of all I voted against Bush twice. I'm a right-leaning centrist who is a fiscal conservative and as liberal as they come in the case of social issues. I believe in low taxes, limited government, free trade and very strict separation of Church and State. I want the government to stay out of my personal life.

I've been a big fan of McCain for a long time for a very simple reason -- in my opinion I think that McCain does what he believes is right, not what he believes is popular. People can say what they'd like about the decisions that McCain has made in this campaign, but the fact of the matter is we know who this man is. He's served this country for a long time. Probably my biggest problem with Obama is that I don't know who he is. He's certainly a very smart man. He's likely very capable. However 4 years ago he was a newly elected Senator to Illinois. He's done very little since then other than campaign for President (as near as I can tell anyway). I feel as if he purposely didn't make any waves so he could de-throne Hillary. His messages in this campaign have been about change and linking McCain to Bush. They're smart tactics for sure (especially in this environment), but they don't tell me what he'll do in a tough situation. I don't know what he stands for. Most of the policies that Obama has laid out are ones that I disagree substantially. I hope he doesn't turn into a "Robin Hood" and I hope he doesn't declare war on business and free trade.

The other concern I have with an Obama Presidency (and this has nothing to do with him) is that I typically vote to have Congress and the Presidency oppose each other. Call my a cynic, but my experience is that both political parties have factions that I could do without. I'd rather the parties be forced to compromise than to have one in total control. I don't play favorites here. I have no faith in Congress right now. I think both sides are completely irresponsible. I fear that a Democratic-controlled House/Senate coupled with Obama as President will cause a big run-up in spending and give-aways to the left (the same way the Republicans have had give-aways to the right under Bush).

In the end though it really doesn't matter on any of this. The Nation has decided. I really hope Obama is as good as many people seem to believe. This country is need a big morale boost, not to mention a boost to this economy. Maybe Obama can turn things around. He'll have my support (for whatever that is worth).