On February 5, 2008, I joined 255,217 other Utahns and voted for Mitt Romney in Utah’s Republican Presidential Primary. Romney won the Utah primary with a decisive 90% of the vote. More statistics from the primary are found here.
I voted for Romney because I liked him. I didn’t know much about him, but I knew that I could trust him and that we had the same fundamental beliefs because we are members of the same church.
I was very sad and angered when certain events transpired and eventually Romney dropped out of the race. At that time myself and the local media suspected that McCain and other candidates had formed backstabbing secret combinations to ensure that Romney never surpassed McCain in the race for delegates. I thought that it was noble of him to step down and instruct his delegates to endorse McCain.
After Romney left the race my attention was drawn elsewhere. Starting in March through May we were busy scrounging every last cent we could find to buy our house. Then in July we found ourselves suddenly expanding from one car seat to three. My mind completely ignored the political arena. I remember hearing about the democratic primaries dragging out for a long time and then suddenly Barack Obama was chosen as the nominee.
Due to Megan’s attraction to the Obama’s and the Democratic Party, we watched some of the Democratic Convention and I was impressed. I didn’t know much about Obama or Joe Biden, but I enjoyed the unity, upbeat optimism and enthusiasm of the party.
Later the Republican National Convention was held and was delayed a day due to Hurricane Gustav. I was hoping that Mitt Romney would be nominated as the Vice to McCain. Instead he chose Sarah Palin, who, I’ll be honest, has annoyed me from the first minute I saw her. Although, I have thoroughly enjoyed Tina Fey’s take on the situation.
A few weeks later the bottom of our economy started falling out. I had never owned a house, had a real job or had a family during any other presidential election and suddenly I identified several issues that were really important to me and my family. Being admittedly unfamiliar with the candidates, I decided that I would wipe the slate clean and intently listen to the debates to aid me in deciding who would be my pick for the next president.
The first debate was on September 26. I was hanging out with Maggie that night and watched the debate on CNN.com while she watched her ABC show. I remember the candidates speaking of several issues pertinent to me. Obama said that he will not change policy on gay marriage, gun control or abortion because those are things that no one can agree upon at this time. I was glad he said that. Gay marriage and legalized abortion are two things that are fundamentally contrary to my personal beliefs and spiritual witness-based convictions and I will not tolerate them. As far as gun control is concerned, I think that there are too many wacked-out nut jobs that do bad things with them. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to get a gun or two, but I do think that improvements need to happen to better keep them away from the crazies.
Later in the first debate I was very impressed by McCain’s knowledge and fluency with regards to foreign policy and the war situation. I don’t think that Obama totally choked, but he was no match for McCain’s name dropping and confidence.
In the second debate I liked Obama’s plan with regards to tax breaks and health care. A coworker had previously warned me that Obama’s health care plan was socialism. But I left the debate feeling like it was McCain’s plan that was socialistic. McCain’s plan did not appeal to me. It was fun to see McCain get so mad at Obama. I was further frustrated with McCain because on a lot of issues he failed to express his policy and instead pointed out the flaws in Obama’s intentions. I really wanted to know what he stood for but on several topics he left me better introduced to Obama and still guessing at what he would do.
We decided to go to Ryan’s final football game in Wildcat Stadium during the third debate. Ryan’s team totally won. It was a good game. Ryan is a quick left guard on the offensive line. It was fun to see him pull and then light up unsuspecting rushers. I played left tackle back in my day. It would have been fun to have played together with him on the left side.
When we got home and listened to the news all we heard about was Joe the Plumber. I was busy at work the next day, so I decided that SNL’s Weekend Update, Thursday Edition would have to make up for the missed debate. To be honest, I didn’t get much out of it.
Since the debates we have heard a lot of sound bites on news clips. The most prominent one to me is McCain keeps saying that Obama wants to "redistribute wealth" instead of "create wealth" like it’s a bad thing. But honestly, somebody please tell me what is wrong with that? I spent two awesome years in a third world country and you know what? I firmly believe that class distinctions are what make a developed/developing nation a third world country.
In my current state, taking it to the man so that I can afford to pay off our medical bills and buy a bigger car for my gaggle of children is not a bad idea. McCain, how is wealth created? From what I have heard from you, I infer that you believe that rich people become richer (create wealth) by taking advantage of the lower classmen. But wouldn’t the world we live in be a happier place if the majority had greater economic opportunity to invest in new inventions and creations? I believe that that is how wealth is created. It has to start at its roots. That is how a tree grows. It does not grow by watering and nourishing the leaves.
If you can’t tell by now, Yes, I have decided to vote for Obama. McCain frustrates me. He gets angry, doesn’t answer the questions, negatively talks about his opponents, can’t raise his arms (that really, really bugs me for some reason) and is out of touch with the immediate needs of the majority of Americans.
Some people have spread bad rumors about Obama. Let me use some common sense to displace these rumors.
1. Obama is not an American. What? Hello? At what point in the application for candidacy to run for president did Obama pull the wool over the eyes of the committee to grant applications for presidency? It is true that only native-born American citizens can be president. If Obama is not American, he could not have applied to be the president. His presidential campaign would have never happened.
2. Obama is a terrorist. Oh really? What part of him working to clean up the slums of Chicago says that he would like turn around and destroy our entire nation? Terrorism is not treated lightly in our country, especially not back in Washington. If you haven’t noticed, even the slightest suspected terrorists are forever blacklisted by the CIA and other intelligence groups. If Obama is a terrorist his campaign would have never gotten off the ground and he would likely be locked up somewhere else.
3. Obama is my 11th cousin. This one is actually true with the caveat that we are one generation removed. The church actually did the research to tell me that.
4. Obama has insufficient experience to be the president. While I agree that McCain has more extensive foreign policy experience, the role of the president is not to be the definitive genius on all issues. For this reason the Presidential Cabinet has existed since the Presidency itself. Based on Obama’s occupational and political experience, he will be able to choose team members that will assist him in making the right decisions.
That is my 2 cents. Let me know your feelings. I'm voting tomorrow at noon, so act quick if you want to dissuade me.
I voted for Romney because I liked him. I didn’t know much about him, but I knew that I could trust him and that we had the same fundamental beliefs because we are members of the same church.
I was very sad and angered when certain events transpired and eventually Romney dropped out of the race. At that time myself and the local media suspected that McCain and other candidates had formed backstabbing secret combinations to ensure that Romney never surpassed McCain in the race for delegates. I thought that it was noble of him to step down and instruct his delegates to endorse McCain.
After Romney left the race my attention was drawn elsewhere. Starting in March through May we were busy scrounging every last cent we could find to buy our house. Then in July we found ourselves suddenly expanding from one car seat to three. My mind completely ignored the political arena. I remember hearing about the democratic primaries dragging out for a long time and then suddenly Barack Obama was chosen as the nominee.
Due to Megan’s attraction to the Obama’s and the Democratic Party, we watched some of the Democratic Convention and I was impressed. I didn’t know much about Obama or Joe Biden, but I enjoyed the unity, upbeat optimism and enthusiasm of the party.
Later the Republican National Convention was held and was delayed a day due to Hurricane Gustav. I was hoping that Mitt Romney would be nominated as the Vice to McCain. Instead he chose Sarah Palin, who, I’ll be honest, has annoyed me from the first minute I saw her. Although, I have thoroughly enjoyed Tina Fey’s take on the situation.
A few weeks later the bottom of our economy started falling out. I had never owned a house, had a real job or had a family during any other presidential election and suddenly I identified several issues that were really important to me and my family. Being admittedly unfamiliar with the candidates, I decided that I would wipe the slate clean and intently listen to the debates to aid me in deciding who would be my pick for the next president.
The first debate was on September 26. I was hanging out with Maggie that night and watched the debate on CNN.com while she watched her ABC show. I remember the candidates speaking of several issues pertinent to me. Obama said that he will not change policy on gay marriage, gun control or abortion because those are things that no one can agree upon at this time. I was glad he said that. Gay marriage and legalized abortion are two things that are fundamentally contrary to my personal beliefs and spiritual witness-based convictions and I will not tolerate them. As far as gun control is concerned, I think that there are too many wacked-out nut jobs that do bad things with them. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to get a gun or two, but I do think that improvements need to happen to better keep them away from the crazies.
Later in the first debate I was very impressed by McCain’s knowledge and fluency with regards to foreign policy and the war situation. I don’t think that Obama totally choked, but he was no match for McCain’s name dropping and confidence.
In the second debate I liked Obama’s plan with regards to tax breaks and health care. A coworker had previously warned me that Obama’s health care plan was socialism. But I left the debate feeling like it was McCain’s plan that was socialistic. McCain’s plan did not appeal to me. It was fun to see McCain get so mad at Obama. I was further frustrated with McCain because on a lot of issues he failed to express his policy and instead pointed out the flaws in Obama’s intentions. I really wanted to know what he stood for but on several topics he left me better introduced to Obama and still guessing at what he would do.
We decided to go to Ryan’s final football game in Wildcat Stadium during the third debate. Ryan’s team totally won. It was a good game. Ryan is a quick left guard on the offensive line. It was fun to see him pull and then light up unsuspecting rushers. I played left tackle back in my day. It would have been fun to have played together with him on the left side.
When we got home and listened to the news all we heard about was Joe the Plumber. I was busy at work the next day, so I decided that SNL’s Weekend Update, Thursday Edition would have to make up for the missed debate. To be honest, I didn’t get much out of it.
Since the debates we have heard a lot of sound bites on news clips. The most prominent one to me is McCain keeps saying that Obama wants to "redistribute wealth" instead of "create wealth" like it’s a bad thing. But honestly, somebody please tell me what is wrong with that? I spent two awesome years in a third world country and you know what? I firmly believe that class distinctions are what make a developed/developing nation a third world country.
In my current state, taking it to the man so that I can afford to pay off our medical bills and buy a bigger car for my gaggle of children is not a bad idea. McCain, how is wealth created? From what I have heard from you, I infer that you believe that rich people become richer (create wealth) by taking advantage of the lower classmen. But wouldn’t the world we live in be a happier place if the majority had greater economic opportunity to invest in new inventions and creations? I believe that that is how wealth is created. It has to start at its roots. That is how a tree grows. It does not grow by watering and nourishing the leaves.
If you can’t tell by now, Yes, I have decided to vote for Obama. McCain frustrates me. He gets angry, doesn’t answer the questions, negatively talks about his opponents, can’t raise his arms (that really, really bugs me for some reason) and is out of touch with the immediate needs of the majority of Americans.
Some people have spread bad rumors about Obama. Let me use some common sense to displace these rumors.
1. Obama is not an American. What? Hello? At what point in the application for candidacy to run for president did Obama pull the wool over the eyes of the committee to grant applications for presidency? It is true that only native-born American citizens can be president. If Obama is not American, he could not have applied to be the president. His presidential campaign would have never happened.
2. Obama is a terrorist. Oh really? What part of him working to clean up the slums of Chicago says that he would like turn around and destroy our entire nation? Terrorism is not treated lightly in our country, especially not back in Washington. If you haven’t noticed, even the slightest suspected terrorists are forever blacklisted by the CIA and other intelligence groups. If Obama is a terrorist his campaign would have never gotten off the ground and he would likely be locked up somewhere else.
3. Obama is my 11th cousin. This one is actually true with the caveat that we are one generation removed. The church actually did the research to tell me that.
4. Obama has insufficient experience to be the president. While I agree that McCain has more extensive foreign policy experience, the role of the president is not to be the definitive genius on all issues. For this reason the Presidential Cabinet has existed since the Presidency itself. Based on Obama’s occupational and political experience, he will be able to choose team members that will assist him in making the right decisions.
That is my 2 cents. Let me know your feelings. I'm voting tomorrow at noon, so act quick if you want to dissuade me.
2 comments:
That was Romney's problem as well: he's not a Christian.
Wow. Dan. Thanks. This post was so well-played out. I agree with everything you said. There are certain aspects of the Democratic party that I don't agree with. But there's more that I do agree with, and I like the idea that while we live in a capitalistic society (which is GREAT) there should be government programs socialistic in nature to ensure that people in poverty have opportunities to get OUT of poverty.
And the fact that Obama talks about the positive possibilities of our nation really speaks to my youthful optimism.
Great post.
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