The Devil We Know.....

As America heads to the polls on Tuesday, I would like to take this opportunity to use my last pre-election blog editorial to explain who I am going to vote for. I should not have to say this, but I will: I believe that either man will do the best that he can if elected. I certainly do not think that the United States is going to fall into some sort of zombie apocalypse if  "my guy" doesn't win. As I have been saying for four years, "We survived eight years of Bush. We'll survive whoever wins in November."

Today I would like to explain why I am NOT going to vote for Governor Mitt Romney.

1. I don't believe what is said about President Obama. 
I don't believe that Barack Obama was born in Kenya. I don't believe that the President is a Muslim terrorist. (If he was, wouldn't we all already be dead?) And while I don't believe that he is the greatest President who has ever lived, I don't believe he is the worst, either.

2. I do believe the things I have heard Governor Romney say. 
Maybe he has been misunderstood, but I watched the video where Governor Romney said he isn't going to care about "those people." I have heard him say that he is going to work to over-turn Roe vs. Wade. I have heard his own voice say, "Planned Parenthood is going away." Again, maybe he was misunderstood. But if that is the case, then do we really want a President so apt to make these types of "slips"? Hell, we already had eight years of Bush-isms. No, thank you.

3. Little things mean a lot. 
President Obama struck the right chord with me when he sat down for a beer with the university professor and the policeman who tried to arrest him. The President has never wavered in his support of Israel, even if he hasn't always gotten along with Israeli President Netanahyu. The President understood that what happened to Trayvon Martin was a tragedy. On the other hand, Governor Romney sat his dog on the roof of their car when he took a 12-hour road trip. During the mid-1960s Romney went to France on a Mormon mission and got student and ministerial deferments from the Viet Nam draft. Worst of all, in my opinion,  Romney politicized the Benghazi attacks on Sept 11, 2012 while they were still going on.  Even allowing that President Obama was making mistakes on that day;  especially if President Obama was making mistakes on that day, it was not the time to be calling him out on them! During the third debate Governor Romney accused President Obama of being weak. In my opinion it's politicians like Governor Romney nipping at the heels of our leaders who really are weak.

4. The last four years were not totally President Obama's fault. 
"We can't afford four more years of Obama" rings false against the counter argument, "We haven't had enough time to clean up this mess." (Is the entire election balanced on which of these statements you choose to believe?) I think it is obvious that many of the issues facing our country are not wholly the fault of the President. In my opinion, this is true:

Republican Obstructionism + Democratic Lack of Leadership = Current Mess

We can have the debate that "Obamacare" and other Democratic budgets will eventually bankrupt the US, but really, isn't that the same discussion we have every two years or so? Regardless of where you stand on some of the social programs and budgetary decisions President Obama pushed through (or tried to), you have to admit that things were pretty bad four years ago. Yes, I am better off than I was in 2008, thank you for asking.
And this segues into my next argument:

5. Governor Romney's experience is not what we need.
Governor Romney, before turning to public service, made his millions as a venture capitalist. Those are people who stake large amounts of money on small companies that want to start-up or expand. His company invested time and money in high risk enterprises and then, when profitable, walked away with a huge chunk of those profits. So that seems like a fine job for a capitalist, but how does it help give him experience to be a good Chief Executive? President Carter ran a successful peanut company, but that didn't help him be a good President, now did it? President Reagan was not an actor of any particular talent, but he was a huge success as President. I just don't see where the fact that Governor Romney has millions of dollars is supposed to be some sort of huge advantage to help lead us.

6. I don't trust Governor Romney. 
This is almost the deciding factor. I'm not sure why, but Governor Romney reminds me of President George Bush (the first). It seems that the Governor wants to be President because....he wants to be President. He seems to suffer from the same "vision thing" that President Bush suffered from. The main point of the Romney campaign seems to be, "Vote for me because I'm not Obama." Shouldn't he be saying things like, "As President I want to do this," or "As President I want to do that," instead of re-acting to what the President is doing? Do we really want a President who wins running against things instead of running for something? 

and my most important reason for voting for President Obama:
7. I didn't vote for Ted Strickland.
Two years ago we had an election here in Ohio for Governor. Ted Strickland was faced by challenger John Kasich. I agreed with the Republican campaign that the incumbent had not kept his promises and done all of the things that he had said that he would. However, I did not know Kasich at all, so instead of choosing to vote for him I simply chose not to vote at all. So Ohio got Governor Kasich, and with him, quarrels about teachers, police, fire-fighters, and other "free-loaders." I came to regret my non-vote. So I may not fully support President Obama, but I will not simply hand the Presidency to Governor Romney by not voting.

So there are my reasons. I am definitely not as enthusiastic in my support of Obama-Biden as I was in 2008.  In 2008 I had a sign in my car! This year I don't even have a sign in my yard. I waffled all summer as the Republicans shot themselves in their collective feet. I seriously looked at Ron Paul! I am not as enthusiastic in my support for the President, and I honestly think that my way of thinking is the prevalent trend this year. However, I predict a squeaky victory for Obama-Biden, with them taking Ohio and the victory.

No matter who wins on Tuesday, my sincere hope is that in the next four years a new breed of candidate emerges. I would love to see candidates on both sides who are level-headed and passionate and who can negotiate with the other side without calling them traitors or idiots or worse. We all love our country! I hope that this election represents the bottom and that we never have another one as bad as this one was. 

E PLURIBUS UNUM!!