by Jay Wesand

Created on: November 02, 2008   Last Updated: November 03, 2008

I can see how it might be difficult for some individuals to decide who to vote for in the coming presidential election. For those who don't look at the candidates from every possible aspect and who tend to have pre-conceived notions based on self-interest it will be much easier.

Selecting a president of these United States is a very important responsibility and must not be taken lightly. To look at it as selecting the one I feel can do more for me personally isn't the way to go. That is the selfish way to look at it but is certainly not the proper way. We must vote based on what is best for the nation and should consider our personal interests as secondary.

In the current election, which pits Barack Obama against John McCain, we see experience versus inexperience. We see an individual who is lambasted for being closely tied to an unpopular current president and his administration. We see a candidate who is a gifted speaker versus one who isn't nearly as gifted. We see a candidate who is severely criticized by the national media versus one who appears to be given a free pass' by the media. We see a candidate whose allegiance to and patriotism for America has been amply proven versus one whose background poses many varied and valid questions.

Selection of a president this election day shouldn't be about race or color but to a large number of voters it likely will be. In order to allow those voters to look at this election from another perspective I have added a What If' area below.

What If . . .

What if John McCain had been a long time member of a splinter Church where a doctrine based on white supremacy was preached from the pulpit?

What if the minister of this Church damned America from the pulpit because of a perceived national failure to maintain the purity of the white race?

What if members of this Church were encouraged to cling to their ancestral roots and consider themselves European Americans?

What if John McCain considered the radical minister of this Church to be his spiritual mentor and had attended the Church for twenty years?

What if the Republican Party was aware of all this and still okay with John McCain being the party candidate for president?

What If John McCain reacted to negative comments concerning his attendance at this Church by stating he wasn't aware of the Church doctrine?

What if John McCain disavowed his relationship with this Church when said relationship turned out to be a real problem with non-white voters?

What if the majority of the news media seemed to ignore the real problems of the relationship and we saw or heard very little of this in the news?

What if there were reports of voter registration fraud by an organization that was scouring jails, bars and homeless shelters in search of un-registered white voters that could be encouraged to register and vote?

What if white voters were said to be turning out in record numbers for early voting in the coming election?

What if you as a white voter had to consider all of the above information and it was actually true?

Would you vote for John McCain?

It is extremely sad but apparently true that regardless of the myriad questions concerning Barack Obama's background, many blacks will vote for him simply because he is black. If whites were faced with the imaginary 'What if' situation above, my feeling is that most would choose not to vote for John McCain. I am white and I certainly wouldn't.

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