electioneering

say the right thing when electioneering
'i trust i can rely on your vote'
it's just business

I have to say that I am one of the many people who simply are unhappy with either candidate right now. Obama's ultra-liberal views have never quite meshed with mine, and I therefore can't imagine myself voting for him. But to make matters worse, I feel like he tries so hard to say the "right things" depending on who's listening. Even worse, he resorts to unprofessional remarks [like this] that really make me question his character.

On the other hand, we have McCain, whose somewhat more conservative social views I tend to agree with. Yet because he is a politician, he bothers me just as well. After having Daddy Yankee endorse him, a Republican, as a "fighter" for the Hispanic community, it's hard to take him seriously anymore. But even more than him, it is his party that I have an issue casting my vote for.

The corruption of the Republican party is not, in my opinion, offset by their conservative social views. While some may not see it, today's dire economic circumstances are deeply rooted in greed and moral depravity. McCain has stated that he's "always for less regulation" when it comes to the economy. Great - look where that got us today. What possible good was he trying to further here, besides his party's own pecuniary interests? To make matters worse, he supported all those government bailouts that put the burden on the middle class. Essentially, the corrupt Republican wants to privatize the profits and socialize the losses. Instead of putting the burden on those who caused this mess, he shifts it to the responsible taxpayer. Oh, and he refuses to raise taxes for the upper class, who in all likelihood were profiting when the markets were up at our expense.

How about the 2005 Bankruptcy code amendments which Bush and his Grand Ol' Party passed? There is no doubt that the credit card companies really won this one. Yes, the reckless banks who were lending money by the shipload to people who make no income, charging them 30% interest, then pillaging them for all they have once they can't even afford to file for bankruptcy due to the new code's protections to the credit card companies. It is total disregard for morality at its finest.

I know how I feel about both candidates. I wouldn't vote for either of them if I had an actual choice. But I don't. It's one or the other. A vote for an independent would not only be a waste, but it would actually be a vote against either McCain or Obama. If Obama wins, I would have furthered that win by not voting for McCain (bracketing for a moment the extreme unlikelihood that my vote even matters in an uber-democratic state). Even if I could find an independent candidate that I 100% agreed with, a vote for him would be a vote for Obama.

Thus, I will be forced to choose the lesser of two evils. It is a shame that it has come down to this.