The Tough, Yet Simple, Decision

As I’m writing this blog today I did not think I would have to make this decision. Come November 4, Election Day, I figured I would easily mark my ballot for Hillary Clinton for President of the United States. Seven months ago when Clinton was front runner I thought without a doubt, as did many other people, that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic nomination for president and this week she would have been the one delivering her acceptance speech, not Barack Obama.
Since this is not the case, now I am faced with whether to vote for Obama, whom I originally did not support, or not vote at all. The main reason why I registered to vote in my current home state of Arizona is because I wanted Hillary Clinton, a woman and wife of one of the greatest presidents we ever had, in the White House. She is very capable of beating a Republican (John McCain) in my opinion. On a side note, if I receive a jury duty notice just because I’m registered to vote, I am going to really be ticked off.
Well, there is another choice: John McCain who just yesterday picked a woman, yet inexperienced, to be his running mate. But there would have to be something seriously wrong with me to vote for a Republican. He is not as conservative as Bush though, but maybe if he agreed to end the war in Iraq as president then I actually might think about it. But who wants 4 more years of Bush policies? You have to be an idiot or filthy rich to want that. McCain is from Arizona (a Republican state) so I wonder if my vote would even matter anyways.
However, after listening to Hillary Clinton’s speech Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention where she threw her support out to Obama, I just might have to get over her loss and take her advice: We (Democrats) need to take back the White House and make sure a Republican does not run our country for another 4 years. Our country cannot afford it. Clinton did make a good point in her speech when she asked her supporters if they were in this election just for her or for the issues that she and other Democrats were fighting for. The issues are not small either. Now, I’m fortunate enough to have a job where they provide affordable health care. I am also fortunate enough that I drive a Honda Civic and the gas prices are not affecting me as much as other people. However, the housing crisis is affecting me and with a Republican in office who does not seem to care about the lower to middle class families, I do not see how it can improve. Or any issues for that matter. Not to mention, the question of whether or not there will be any social security left when I hit that age. Al Gore’s “lock box” plan when he ran for president was actually not a bad idea. Plus, the war in Iraq has been dragging on for 5 years and costing us a fortune and killing soldiers who are basically dying for no reason. However, I do see an end in sight to this unnecessary war if Barack Obama is elected President of the United States.
The choice that Obama made regarding his running mate, although not Clinton, Joe Biden was a good choice. Biden is great when it comes to foreign policy issues, he was the senator behind the Violence Against Women Act, he supports gay rights and is against gun ownership. During his convention speech Wednesday night, Biden proved that he would make a great Vice President, running with someone who does not have as much experience. Plus, even though I do not like to say it, our country is still very racist. It would not be entirely impossible, since there were already threats at the recent convention, that Obama becomes the target for assassination. We saw this with Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy in the 60’s whose killings were both linked to race and civil rights.

So, we will have to wait longer until a woman makes it to the White House. However, as I mentioned above, there are more important issues to think about other than that: Our future, which I guess pretty much makes this a simple decision.
You know there is one good aspect that can come out if John McCain just happens to win: It will leave the door wide open for Hillary Clinton to run again in 4 years. And next time, I think she can do it.