Undecided about the 2008 presidential election?

[Bill Gold]

I’m sure that a lot of the members of these boards who have been around for quite a few years already knew who I’d be voting for this election cycle. I’m pretty sure I’m one of the few people responsible for politics being a closable thread topic on these boards. I’ll try to keep this short and try not to be as inflammatory as I have been in the past (religion / politics / war).

I’m supporting Barack Obama for president this year, and I supported him and voted for him in the primary here in California, too. I support Obama’s stance on practically every major issue, with a few exceptions here and there.

After eight years of failed foreign and domestic policies this country needs a 180 degree change. That won’t happen if we elect someone who has drawn from the same stagnant pool of intellectuals that this administration has been using.

Despite the fact that many people seem to believe that this election just comes down to the flip of a coin between two candidates, this is never the case. People thought that Gore and Bush were so similar that many decided to vote for a candidate that they knew had no chance of winning (Nader), they stayed home, or they flipped a coin. It should be pretty plainly obvious to even the least informed voter that an Al Gore presidency would not have looked like the past eight years, if only for the fact that this country would have invested in clean energy and upped mileage standards on cars more significantly.

It’s okay to be undecided because (for example) you are pro-life and would favor McCain, but your family is worse off financially and has no healthcare and would favor Obama. This is a legitimate quandary. But to say that “they’re all the same so it doesn’t matter who I vote for” is to let your country down by failing to educate yourself on the candidates’ positions. As a possible voter in this election you owe it to your country to decide which candidate represents moving forward in a direction that will help us get back on our feet (infrastructure and domestic policy-wise) and help uphold human rights and regain our moral high-ground in the international community.

This election is not to be taken lightly. Arguably, for the first time since the election of FDR the aggregate direction of the world could hinge on this vote in November. We can’t afford to screw it up because we failed to observe the obvious differences between the only two candidates who have a chance of winning.

-Bill

*If this is too much, go ahead and delete it Brandon*