Viewpoints
Voting: For or against
Phil Riddle, Democrat Editor
Voting season. What a joyous time to be an American.
When the two major parties hold their quadrennial bashes, dress in silly hats, officially name their alpha dogs and begin the last push toward election day.
It’s the time of year all Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Green Party members, Whigs, Tories, Federalist and left-handed jai-alai players tell us voting is an honor and a responsibility.
And they’re absolutely right.
We take all the information, solid data, like experience and ideas, and extraneous garbage, like who they went to school with and what they eat for lunch, and make a decision.
But, are we deciding who we want in office, or who we don’t want.
Take our presidential race, for instance.
Who will you vote for, Barack Obama or John McCain?
McCain, you say.
Hmm. If you decided to vote for the Senator from Arizona, that must mean you don’t like Obama. And if you don’t like Obama, it must be because he is African-American.
Ergo, according to this line of logic, if you vote for McCain, you must be a racist.
Wait, you can be judged just as easily by the other major party.
If you plan to vote for Obama, that has to mean you dislike McCain. And, according to the political correctness theories spouted by network pundits and pollsters, if you dislike McCain, it can only be because of his advanced years. So, if you vote for Obama, you are an ageist.
So, vote for whomever you want, but know there could be a discriminatory reason behind your choice.
Dislike Sarah Palin? It has nothing to do with her political record. You have to be a woman hater.
Like Sarah Palin? You must want to drill for oil in Alaska.
Not a fan of Joe Biden? Must be because he still has his own hair.
A fan of Joe Biden? Must be because you are a die-hard Democrat.
Your choice has nothing to do with wanting the person at the switch who can take charge of the flagging economy, tackle the daunting job of overhauling the country’s healthcare system or ending the war in Iraq.
Nope, after two years of listening to negative campaigning, we don’t actually vote FOR a candidate as much as we vote AGAINST one.
Have you heard anyone say they’d vote for McCain because Obama’s middle name is Hussein?
I have.
That strikes a chord with me, too. I’d never vote for a guy named Willard, Bubba, Eugene or Elroy, even though the cartoon kid on the Jetson’s was cute.
And some are saying they’d not vote for McCain because of his age.
By the way, he’s almost the same age as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive coordinator, Dick Lebeau, and no one is looking to put him out to pasture.
Put aside middle names, age and gender and decide based on pertinent issues ... like, is he a Jimmy Buffett fan ... does he own a boat ... can she play the harp ... can he tap dance ...
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