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Vote for somebody.
Feb. 5th, 2008 07:50 amFor me I vote for somebody based on three criteria in this order:
* Honesty
* Leadership skills
* Stance on the issues
I don't want to discount a candidates stance on the issues, and hope I haven't done so by implication, but really these three points of criteria are very nearly equivalent.
The reason I place the first two before the issues is because without them, I don't have faith that they'd be able, or willing, to carry out their promises. If someone claims to have exactly my stance on every issue, I wouldn't vote for them if I didn't think they really believed in their stances. This is different from changing stances on issues. Sometimes people's opinions on the issues change. People are human. New information comes along to convince one of the difference between the pros and cons. Judging a candidates honesty is tough, but if you take a look at the difference between what they've said and what they've done, it's a start.
The candidate must also have leadership skills. You can often figure it out based what they've been able to achieve and how they've campaigned. I don't mean to imply that this is exactly a popularity contest, but in a way, it is. Can this person reach out to all kinds of people in order to pass legislation and change the world?
After this of course take a look at the issues and you'll probably find that the person that satisfies the first two points on my list, there's probably a decent chance they agree with you on the issues.
So far in my short voting career I've voted as a reaction to another candidate. I was sick of the partisanship of the Clinton years and mistakenly saw Al Gore as an extension of that (since then though I think Al Gore's been great at getting his message across), so I voted for John McCain in the primaries. I saw him as someone who bucked the trends of his party and spoke honestly.
In 2004 I was mad about the preemptive war in Iraq, so I wanted George W. Bush out of office. In the primaries I voted for John Edwards. I saw him on Face the Nation answering questions by...answering questions. I also saw him as an electable alternative to the president.
But this year, well for some time now, I've taken notice of Barack Obama. He's someone that is clearly a powerful speaker, and so far I haven't seen anything that's lead me to question his honesty. In fact, in raising money for his campaign he's raised record amounts. This is made all the more remarkable by the fact that it has relied primarily on individual contributors.
I also read his second book, The Audacity of Hope. I expected a memoir, and it was that, but it was mostly an educational book on what it's like to work in the Senate and a break down of his stance and ideas for specific issues, in short, a campaign speech.
One of the comforting things in the book was the idea that the people in Washington are really more alike than they are different. One story had George W. Bush introducing himself to Barack Obama and telling him they had something in common, they both had to debate Alan Keyes.
But this letter isn't an endorsement of Obama per se. Well, I guess it is, but it's not primarily that. What I want everyone to do is vote for somebody, I don't care who. But I want you to care who you're voting for. I hope you find someone who inspires you, or someone you think is the best candidate to be president. It should be as informed a decision as possible, but even though there's not much time for any more research, do what you can to learn about this election and go anyway.
If there's only one thing Barack Obama helped do this campaign it's raise an interest in politics and get the vote out. For the first time in any campaign, I was one of the individual donors I mentioned earlier. Also, this weekend I canvassed a neighborhood near my apartment and went to the rally at UCLA to see Caroline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, Stevie Wonder, and Michelle Obama.
I believe most of the presidential candidates has written books. Needless to say, I think this is a powerful tool for them to be the least filtered in their appeal to voters. But since there's little time, then go to their websites to decide for whom you should vote.
Democrats:
Republicans:
Visit your local state website to find out information on any third party candidates and their positions. One of the problems in this country is the lack of competitive third and fourth parties. By only have two parties with any power it has contributed, along with an increasingly fast-paced media, it has dichotomized the discourse into left versus right, us versus them, and evil versus good.
