Campaigning Gone Wild

As passionate as I am about my beliefs, I have to say I'm heartily sick of this election. I hate to think of the money that's been spent on commercials, buttons, stickers, and swag. Think of what good that money could have done, had it been spent toward health care, education, or our faltering economy. I think that our country needs major campaign reform, starting with a specific time frame for campaigning. Seriously, this has been a two year presidential campaign!

That said, I'm a Democrat. Liberal. Bleeding heart, the works. I was a major Hillary supporter, but switched allegiance to Obama fairly calmly when she bowed out. The issues are more important to me than the person.

I believe that we need to have a national health care system. My family of four spends about $10,000 in health care premiums a year, and thank goodness we can afford it. There are so many who can't. I find that ridiculous. So many other nations have already figured this one out; I'm unsure why we're so far behind the curve. I'd love to see dramatic change in this area.

I am a passionate supporter of a woman's right to choose. To me, the issue is more medical than moral, and it scares me to death that this right to decide the fate of your own body could be taken away from us.

Environment is another big issue for me. I'm completely against drilling, regardless of how close to whatever shore it may be. The time is long past due for us to find and develop an alternative source of fuel. Let's end our dependence on the oil-producing countries of the Middle East forever, not just for the short-term. Trust me, living in Maine makesyou feel the oil situation keenly. We heat our homes with heating oil in the winters and have watched the price triple since we moved here.

I find all the candidates to be fine people in this election, although I will admit that Sarah Palin vaguely annoys me in one of those can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it ways. I've always liked John McCain, but I liked him more when he was more openly critical of Pres. Bush's policies. Whether it's the case or not, it gives the impression to me that he's saying what he needs to now to get elected. I hope I'm wrong, because he's always been someone I've respected.

In this case, though, respect isn't enough for me. I feel like dramatic change is needed in our country, and that Barack Obama is the person who can effect that change. His VP choice threw me for a bit of a loop (I was holding out hope for Hillary to the bitter end!), but the more I research Biden, the more I like him.

It's interesting to me, that although we obviously represent a diversity of opinion on this blog, we all feel like change is necessary. We all honestly believe that our candidate is the one who will do the best job. As different as people's beliefs may be, I feel that we all come to them with a spirit of sincerity and hope. And difference in and of itself is never something to be belittled or ridiculed, but celebrated. That's America.