*This post was taken salvaged from the blog before the database was lost. However, there are no comments.*
Well, the election is over and I have received quite a few requests/demands for me to post something about who I voted for. I agonized over this decision and really tried to consider every issue, not just two or three. I hope this blog has made you rethink, reconsider, or reaffirm your position on some big issues.
In the end, I was 52% Obama and 48% for McCain. But really, I was 20% for Obama and 19% for McCain – I disagree with both candidates on about 80% of the issues. We really need a third party in this country.
I have put together a few thoughts, which are far from exhaustive, but perhaps represent a few of my thoughts behind voting for Obama. They were originally in spreadsheet form, so they are very simple sentences. There are holes and counter-arguments to all reasoning, but these are my simple thoughts.
Why I voted for Obama
Intelligence
Our president should be smart. The economy and foreign policy are multi-variable problems and should be solved by our best and brightest. Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law. He is among the smartest 1% of Americans. John McCain graduated in the bottom 1% of his undergraduate class. You don’t have to be top 10% to be president, but bottom 1% is unacceptable to me.
Foreign Policy/Energy Policy
I don’t think either candidate actually has a good plan for foreign policy or dealing with Iraq. However, our foreign policy and our energy policy are intertwined and I believe they will be the difference in whether America succeeds going forward. We need sustainable, clean energy and transportation that utilizes it. Regardless of where you stand on global warming, the price and pollution of continuing to burn oil is not a good plan. The technology to transition is here NOW!
On image alone, Obama will make our foreign policy more effective. He will be less inclined to wage war. He will concentrate on sustainable, clean energy. McCain wants to “drill baby drill.” He is not committed to alternative energy. He proposes tax breaks for oil companies when oil companies are making record profits.
Why I wanted to vote for McCain
McCain is more likely to put judges I favor on the Supreme Court.
I don’t want Washington to have a majority in the Senate, House AND White House.
Values I thought were Republican, but realized were not.
I am fiscally conservative. The Republicans are not fiscally conservative. Look at our national debt. I am socially conservative. John McCain is a moderate and wouldn’t change anything. He has been, and essentialy still is, pro choice.
I have turned the comments “off” on this post. We have had the last months to survey where we differ. It is now time to move forward.