by Mary Fonvielle

Created on: September 25, 2008

This will be my first presidential election in which I am able to participate, and while I do not consider myself a very political person I have certainly not been taking it lightly. Though I am resolved to keeping an open mind until Election Day and will not block out what one candidate has to say just because I disagreed with something he said in the past, at this point I believe I know what my choice will be when I get that ballot. In my views Senators John McCain and Barack Obama are so different in their policies and campaigns that this election will be rather cleanly split according to what we Americans believe to be higher priorities.

This will be the fourth presidential election I'll remember in which I have been old enough to really understand what is going on, and so far it is by far the most exciting and interesting. First voting rights aside, I have never seen an election in which the differences between candidates were so sharply defined. In nearly any of the issues that Americans choose to deem important these days, whether it be fuel consumption, the war in the Middle East, the economy, or others, it seems to me that John McCain and Barack Obama are for the most part positioned on opposite ends of the proverbial spectrum. In most cases of "the issues" you either agree with one or the other, or you agree with neither. There is very little middle ground here.

Any election in which the candidates are so defined would be very close, and I do not think that this one will be any different. Even so late in the race and close to the end, I see both John McCain and Barack Obama as having a close to even chance of becoming our next president. However despite the closeness of this race I believe that most Americans have made their decisions by now. I have spoken with friends, family, and the occasional stranger if the topic comes up, and it is always apparent that all but a sparse few of them have made up their minds.

Personally I believe I will vote in favor of a chance for Change. I hope America can choose to be patient enough to allow the slow process of reviving our place in the word for the better. Though I am not fully opposed to John McCain or some of his policies, I feel that his proposed solutions are too short-term and would do more harm than good in the long run. Quick gratification is nice sometimes, but that is not what I am looking for from my government.

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