for anyone lucky enough to have grown up around me, it won't surprise you when i say that i grew up in a conservative household. the switzers are easily a republican lot, and i know that my parent's/family's opinions have helped to shape my political beliefs.
i voted for bush in 2000, with the family discussions influencing my virgin-election decision making. but don't get me wrong; i'm alright with the choice i made. i still don't think that al gore would have made a better president than "w," even though he's grown on me with his environmental efforts over the last few years.
as so many other people do at that age, i began to think for myself in college. it would be fair to say that my views became a bit more liberal... i mean onu is a liberal arts college, what else should my family have expected?! but my upbringing couldn't totally be ignored, and i still wouldn't consider myself a democrat. so during 2004 elections, i chose to abstain from voting. the bush administration had obviously floundered, but was i seriously going to vote for john freaking kerry? to quote south park, it was like choosing between a turd sandwhich and a giant douche.
btw, i was fully aware that by abstaining from voting in the 2004 election that i was giving up my right to bitch about the job being done by whoever won the election. i've held to that... right?
well, this time around i'm not going to take that approach. i'm tired of going to war with everyone and lying about our motivations for doing so. the country is dealing with a looming economic crisis, and the global economy we once dominated is starting to dominate us. the planet is falling to pieces. our government is too divided on party lines. an energy crisis is also on the horizon. things definitely need to change.
in the last 20 years we've had two families running the country. the fact that we can extend that to, at a minimum, 24 years is reason enough not to vote for hillary clinton. her campaign's inability to refrain from slinging mud is, for me, a clear indication that she can't be trusted to run our country. she's done little during her time in congress, and has been caught in lie after lie during the course of her campaign. i'm 100% serious when i say i'll move to canada if she wins.
on a side note, it would almost be worth it for hillary to win just so we could have bill clinton in the white house with absolutely no responsibilities. he would have tail running through the white house like it was a frat house. i'd watch that reality show.
mccain is not offering me any change either. in fact, he's like bush on steroids: he doesn't even need god to justify his wars. he's promised more 100 more years in iraq, and pretty much insinuated that he'd go after iran too. john mccain will invade your privacy. john mccain is 150 years old. a president mccain will continue our country's current push towards orwell's "1984". i'm not really down with that at all either.
so that leaves us with barack obama. he has been very active during his time in office, for the most part on issues that are important to me. he cares about the environment, education, and net neutrality. he is the first president since reagan (maybe since kennedy) that can really speak to the people. his speech on race was a speech that i will never forget. he seems to get that we our country needs a fresh look. and the one thing that really impresses me is the way with which his campaign has handled itself throughout the race so far. despite all of mudslinging out of hillary's corner, obama's taken the high road and let's his principles do the talking for him.
that's a man i can get behind. obama in '08.
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