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The race for the Oval Office has officially started, and already we are seeing some surprising results among the front-runners of both parties. Some candidates have dropped out, some are holding on despite poor returns, and the rhetoric is heating up as the leaders vie for their parties' nods at the National Conventions.
It kind of reminds you of the song that never ends, doesn't it?
I'm predicting that 2008 is going to be the year of the Moderate. Based on what I am seeing and hearing, the voters are tired of the party "Hard-Liners" on both sides, and are looking for someone less extreme. That's about as far as I'll go in a prediction, and I certainly claim no special insight into either American Politics or the near future.
If you're an American Citizen of voting age, I want to encourage you to exercise your right to vote and add your voice to the decision making process. It may seem too often that your vote doesn't really matter, but in reality it does.
Even if you look at the candidates for a particular office and think, "I don't care for any of these choices," I still encourage you to examine the candidates and cast your vote.
Why?
Well, think of it this way; if someone you don't like is going to end up in the office no matter what, why not put a little effort into trying to make sure the candidate that will present the least potential for damage ends up in office? I would hope that one of those running would have some trait that makes them slightly less odious to you than the other.
Yes, that's a lousy way of selecting a government, but until a better system comes along, or until I figure out how to resurrect Theodore Roosevelt to go clean house in Washington, it's the system we have. Boycotting it doesn't change the system; it merely allows others to make the decisions for us.
I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, or who not to vote for. I would like to suggest that every voter resist the urge to be a "One Issue Voter" and look over the whole candidate, not just their position on a single topic. We have many "hot button" issues in this country that garner one-issue voters: abortion, gun control, gay rights, immigration, the environment, taxes, etc. All of those are important issues, and to certain people each one ranks as the single most important challenge facing our society today.
By all means, look at the issues that are important to you, but also look at where the candidate stands on other issues. We certainly wouldn't want to elect someone like Hitler based solely on his stand on a single issue, would we? Make sure that the candidate not only promises to work on the main issues important to you, but that they will also work towards what is going to be best for the country overall. Reaching a definitive conclusion on gun control, for example, is meaningless if we allow our Constitutional Rights to vanish in the process.
My final point in this column is going to be presented very early, but I'm hoping most people will take it to heart. Whoever wins in November, give them a chance. Don't immediately decide they're a lousy official just because you didn't want them to win. Try to remain objective and evaluate their performance in office based on what they do, not on what you thought of them before the election. Please hold off on the insulting bumper stickers and slogans until the President Elect has had ample time in office to demonstrate their mettle.
Maybe - just maybe - you'll decide you don't need the snarky stickers after all.
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