The Politics are Dancing.

With November 4th quickly approaching, I find myself actually caring about an election for the first time in my life. This disturbs me greatly, because it is another sign that I am getting old. Some people like to keep who they are going to vote for a private matter, but I'm not one of those people. Unfortunately I still haven't decided on who I am going to vote for. I do know that I will not be voting for Obama(not that it really matters in California). Here are a few of the reasons why:

• I hate that every chance he gets he trashes President Bush's presidency. I really like President Bush and the job that he has done. Bush has had to deal with events that have never occurred in our history. It's easy to play Monday morning quarterback after something happens. The fact of the matter is that there has not been another terrorist attack on our soil since September 11th. I think we take that for granted when we consider how frequently terrorist attacks occur in other parts of the world. I also hate the fact that the majority of our country's problems (especially the economy) could actually be blamed on Bill Clinton's administration and a House and Senate dominated by Democrats. Somehow Clinton escapes the blame (Do we forget that he was impeached?). It was like Clinton handed Bush the keys to a nice looking Pontiac 6000(the greatest car in the world) and once Clinton left the garage oil started pouring out on the floor, the shocks went out and somebody had siphoned the gas out of the tank. I guess America has a short-term memory.
• In the debates that I have watched he doesn't give a straight answer to any real question. I know that this is how politics works, but I wouldn't mind a genuine answer. Instead I get some tap dance around the question into another topic that he prefers to discuss.
• The thing that really bothers me is that a lot of the questions he side-steps have to do with his past and the people who he associates with. He has associated with known terrorists. He thinks we are naive enough to believe that he had no idea what kind of things his preacher and spiritual advisor of over 20 years(the one who married he and his wife) was saying against our country. However, he is very open about the fact that he did drugs early on in his life.
• Obama decided not to use public funding for his campaign, after saying that he would. (When you check the box on your tax return to have $3 go to the campaign fund, this is what it would go to.) Instead, his campaign has been financed privately. He has raised over 605 million dollars since last year (McCain took the public funding of 84 million dollars). Who has made the majority of those donations? I would guess that it is the rich. Then Obama claims that he will turn around and increase taxes for the rich. I'm not buying it.
• His solution to just about everything is to increase spending. I'm not stoked about the increased taxes that will result from that way of thinking.
  
• These elections come off like your typical high school elections. Promises are made by both parties that realistically have no chance of occurring without going through the rest of the government (high school administrators/Congress). So what we are left with is deciding who has the better character, qualifications, and experience to deal with the rest of the world. And that is where Obama loses my vote. He doesn't have much experience, hasn't associated with the best people in his past, and just gives me the impression that I'm not getting all of the facts.

That doesn't mean that I will be voting for McCain though. Here are some points about him:

• I really can't question his patriotism. He has fought for our country and was willing to give his life for the country's benefit. When hearing him speak he does seem to be genuinely concerned about the well-being of our country.
• For the most part, he has stuck to the issues and not made much of Obama's various indiscretions in the past. This may change as we get closer to election day.
• I'm not a big fan of his health care plan.
• He also makes claims about changes that will occur that really don't stand a chance at making it through Congress.
• For the most part, I really like McCain. The main hang-up for me is Sarah Palin. McCain does look very old, and I don't have total confidence that he will make it through his term. I'm not so sure that I am comfortable with Palin replacing him. She doesn't seem to have much experience either.
  

So there is my voting dilemma. Maybe I will just write somebody else in. Anybody want to make me an offer? I wonder if I can take a picture of my vote? I'll have to look into that. Like I said before, it really won't matter in California.

What will matter are my votes on the various propositions. Here is a break-down of how that will go:

• Proposition 1: NO. I am not willing to give the government the o.k. on spending 9 billion dollars. Sure, it will probably reduce the time of my morning commute, but we are talking about billions of dollars.
• Proposition 2: NO. It is in the farmer's best interest to keep animals from being stressed. Chickens wouldn't lay eggs if they weren't comfortable. All that passing this prop will do is send these farmers south of the border. The economy doesn't need that right now. Animal protection groups need to leave my food alone.
• Proposition 3: YES. Sick kids get my vote.
• Proposition 4: YES. I'm anti-abortion to begin with, so this is a no-brainer.
• Proposition 5: UNDECIDED. I have to still read into this more. I have a feeling that there is some extra stuff in here that will allow some criminals special treatment that they don't deserve.
• Proposition 6: YES. Only because the L.A. City Council is against it.
• Proposition 7: YES. Renewable energy seems like another no-brainer. Although I am reminded of a Deep Thought by Jack Handy. "I believe in making the world safe for our children, but not our children's children, because I don't think children should be having sex".
• Proposition 8: YES. This isn't about denying rights. Check out this video:

• Proposition 9: YES. This will save money, and it keeps the right people informed.
• Proposition 10: NO. It will increase my taxes. People should buy those vehicles because they care about the environment, not because they get a monetary benefit.
• Proposition 11: YES. I don't really care about redistricting, but AARP is for it and old people are wise.
• Proposition 12: YES. I'm o.k. with helping out veterans.

That is a break-down of how my November 4th will go. Feel free to let my stances sway you in your voting.