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Presidential Elections 2008
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Results so far:
| Yes | 92% | 90 votes | Total: 98 votes | |
| No | 8% | 8 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesI believe that a presidential candidate's character is one of the most important qualities voters should consider before they cast their ballots. A person's character is shown in their moral and ethical qualities, or more broadly as the overall personality traits they portray. The months long campaign trail tests a candidate's character as they deal with negative ads, mud slinging, and media coverage. A candidate puts their character on display in every interview and debate, press conference and rally.
Many people think that the issues of the day should be more important then digging into the character of a candidate, but I disagree. The office of the President of the United States is the most important government post we have. Whoever is elected to this office should not only be knowledgeable about our country's issues, but they should also have the strength of character to deal with these issues justly, fairly and wisely.
Over the last eight years, we have seen what kind of damage a president of weak character can do to our country. Our international relationships have deteriorated and our reputation damaged. Confidence in America's strength and leadership has been repeatedly questioned. Our economy has crashed, setting off a global recession. Oil prices have soared and unemployment has risen. Even though the President is just one person, they have the power to direct the course the United States takes through all of this. The President is not only the voice of the nation, but to the nation. If confidence in their office fails, confidence in the country fails.
A President of strong character will work across party lines, listen to their staff and advisers, judge information and intelligence and then come to their own decisions. They will not be hasty to use our military might, nor will they fail to immediately come to the nation's aid should disaster strike. A President of character is well spoken, pragmatic and is able to understand and work with a global community. Most importantly, they are not puppets of a larger political, industrial or military machine.
This "perfect" candidate will probably never exist, but this is the bar with which I judge my politicians. The closer they come to these standards, the more I am convinced to cast my vote for them. I do not just vote with my party, the issues or the campaign slogan. Nor do I vote solely based on how I feel emotionally. I take all of the aspects of a candidate and their campaign into consideration before I decide who I want for President. However, a candidate's strength of character most definitely goes a long way into swaying my vote.
Learn more about this author, Paxus.
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No
I could care less about the character of the Presidential Candidates of the Status Quo Republican and Democratic Party since both of them are the same. I am also voting Libertarian since Bob Barr has character and the Status Quo Republican/Democrati c Party are proving to the world that they are hypocrites. The Republicans and Democrats have talked about human rights in the world. George W. Bush talked about human rights in Myanmar but the Republicans and Democrats have lost all right to talk about human rights when the Libertarians and Greens have their human rights violated.
In fact, the Republicans and Democrats talk about a wasted vote but use mechanisms such as the Commission for Presidential Debates to block any attempt at real change. The members of the Libertarian and Green Party have called the Commission for Presidential Debates on the telephone and sent them messages via the Electronic Mail System only to be treated rudely by the volunteers and employees of the Commission for Presidential Debates. The Libertarians and Greens talk about their voting preferences and many Mc Cain [as well as Obama Supporters] conducts acts of repudiation against them. The Libertarians and Greens have called the Campaign Sites of Obama in the hope that he would propose that Bob Barr and Cynthia Mc Kinney be included in the Presidential Debates. The response of the volunteers of Obama has been to treat the Libertarians and Greens extremely bad. Regardless, the character or lack of character that exists in the Presidential Candidates [as well as their supporters] will not influence or affect my vote in November [if I decide to vote in what could be another unfair election]. What influences me is the concepts or lack of concepts as well as scruples when dealing with people who think differently from them in the political party candidates from the Status Quo not the character.
I am voting for Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party because I do not believe in the Republican and Democratic Party. Bob Barr has been opposed to illegal immigration with amnesty. Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party are also against an excess of government compared to the Republicans and Democrats. Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party believes that terrorism can be fought at home instead of nation building and destroying around the world. Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party are opposed to Trade Agreements and Bailing out of Financial Institutions secondary to the mistakes of the politicians and those who are of the upper hierarchy of the financial institutions. Bob Barr was even ready to accept the resignation of his Vice Presidential Running Mate if Ron Paul was willing to run as Vice President [which Ron Paul did not do]. It is these facts and not the character of the Status Quo Candidates that will influence my vote.
Learn more about this author, Roberto Alvarez-Galloso.
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Difference of opinion? Debate now.
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