by Leigh Goessl

Created on: November 17, 2008   Last Updated: September 13, 2009

Every presidential election as I examine my options for candidates between the Republicans and Democrats rarely do I ever see a candidate I feel the confidence to elect to the "big seat" to take charge and lead in the U.S.

The problem which perplexes me is as I explore each candidate and the parties they are representing is the fact I'm truly disillusioned. I'm tired of choosing between the "lesser of two evils". Why is it the popular opinion in the U.S. that only a Republican or Democrat is worthy enough to lead the country? There is something seriously wrong with this picture. Where does it state that only two candidates are worthy enough to choose from?

The way I see it one of the primary problems lies within the myth that voting for a 3rd party candidate is a wasted vote. In fact I view it as quite the opposite. In the 2004 election I had every intention of voting a 3rd party candidate but ended up voting from one of the "primary" parties because one of the candidates I was truly opposed to more so than the other.

Despite this fact, I left the polls not feeling good about my decision and vowed to never again vote for a candidate I did not have faith in to lead my country. In essence, my voting for a candidate who I perceived as the "lesser of two evils" was the real wasted vote.

In the 2008 election year I again felt the same way and I did not want to vote for either Mr. Obama or Mr. McCain for two reasons. I did not feel they were the best candidates from their respective parties nor do I care to continue to contribute to the perpetuity of allowing the Republicans and Democrats to continue business as usual. There are real problems needing fixing and very little is being done to fix them due to the partisanship which exists.

Mr. Obama hung his hat on the word "change" to the point of ad nauseum without the real substance to back up exactly what he was going to do. Mr. McCain uttered the works "maverick" and "shake up Washington" like it was the latest fad. All sound wonderful in theory but when you looked closer at their records, plans, actual plans, and feasibility and to me neither really represented doing any of these things in my opinion; they were nothing but eloquent and pretty words.

When it came down to it essentially all I saw was more of the same old, same old; Republicans and Democrats bickering with one another, wasting taxpayer money and being led by the nose by special interests groups. The mass bailout was further illustration where these

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