"Lock the doors and close the blinds -- we're going for a ride..."

Hi all. Yes, I'm alive and kicking. This is a very rare blog entry for me here at Mindsay (although, as you may have seen, I've been doing a lot of replying on Mindsay as of late).  As you may already know, I've moved my blog to my own site at Shiny's Takeout (www.shinystakeout.com). And even there I've really stayed away from political commentary on the most part.  I suppose I've wanted to not only keep an open mind about this important presidential election, but I also wanted to keep the minds of undecided voters open as well.  There are plenty of partisan and non-partisan blogs out there that could do a far better job than I ever could.

But since the election is really right on top of us -- and because I've been witnessing a vibrant and active debate across Mindsay over the past few months, I decided that this would be the place where I would air my views. This blog entry is not going to be posted on the Takeout; you at Mindsay were my first blogging audience and, although this post will remain open to the general public, the Mindsay folks are my target audience in this case.

So -- as for the statement in the title that probably confuses many of you: What? You're not voting for Obama on Election Day? Is this a joke? I thought you were a Democrat?  I'll try to answer everything as thoroughly as possible.

First and foremost -- I have a great deal of respect for Senator Obama.  The story of how he came to be is quite phenomenal. There are many moments during which he overcame hurdles and adversity, and I think he's a better man for that. But I feel a similar way about Senator McCain -- whose story is also something extraordinary.  Whoever ultimately wins the election -- I hope his past experiences help him make the proper decisions to lead this country well, thinking about what's best for the citizens of the United States of America and the global community.  I mention this so you all will know that I harbor no ill-feelings against any candidate based on who he is.

That being said, we run into a problem that has been plaguing the American democratic system (as well as other democratic systems worldwide):  How do we select a leader who is truly a representative to the people and who won't be sidetracked by special interests?  Senator Obama is campaigning that he wants to cut down on pandering towards large corporations and focus on the people -- which is noble indeed. But by definition, he's a successful Congressional politician! He didn't get where he is today without the financial backing of corporations and individual donations -- no matter how socially and globally aware the sources of these contributions may be.  Can a politican -- especially a presidential candidate -- really stand a chance to win without this sort of war chest? Is Obama really someone who isn't in the pocket of some corporation, PAC or benefactor?

(In all fairness -- all of these questions can be asked of Senator McCain as well.)

The manner in which this election has been covered since day one has been, in some people's eyes, a travesty.  There has been so much garbage to get past regarding bullshit issues such as a candidate's name, the legitimacy of said candidate to run for president; decisions made by both presidential candidates during times of duress that have little to do with the issues; even the age and purported religions of the candidates! This was compounded by brutal negative ads on both sides taking the words of the opponent blatantly out of context. It became increasingly difficult to cut through the many layers of smoke and mirrors to get to the real issues.

And when you get down to "the real issues," you need to take a look at consistency. Many have looked at the record that Senator Obama held while still a Representative -- and found inconsistencies with his term as a Senator and as a presidential candidate. The same can be said of John McCain.  Both candidates have had their share of so-called "flip-flopping." And I won't scrutinize that necessarily -- it's important to use one's past experiences to improve upon a stance. For someone to strive to do his job well, he must constantly be looking for ways to improve -- and he must look for advice from the far reaches of the spectrum. When I took a look at John McCain as a serious candidate for President in 2000, I saw someone who shared many of my views and disagreed with quite a few as well -- but he wasn't pandering to a specific political party the same way that John McCain '08 has been.  In Senator McCain I see a glimmer of his own ideals rather than that of an established political partisan machine.

As a whole, I take a look at Senator Obama's voting record and stance on many different issues and see someone who appears to represent me with more parity than Senator McCain. But on the same level, I also see someone who does not have the same sheer experience in the Senate as McCain does. And I see similar pandering on Obama's side as well.  Perhaps the one occurrence which raised a large red flag for me happened on July 9 of this year.  That's when he cast a vote affirming Senate Bill H.R. 6304.

H.R. 6304 was also known in some circles as the "telecom immunity bill." There had been some sneaking around behind closed doors where the government worked in cahoots with the phone companies to illegally eavesdrop on conversations.  This was something which, at the time, was outside the scope of FISA and was covered with a "we need this or the terrorists will win" excuse.  The bill passed, allowing the telecommunications companies to absolve responsibility for the illegal acts they assisted with which violated the fourth ammendment of the U.S. Constitution.   I was extremely proud of Senator Hillary Clinton on that day who had the balls to stand up against this bill.  As well as 26 other Democratic Senators (including VP Nominee Joe Biden) and one Independent.

Senator Obama voted in favor of this bill. I was pissed off. As were many in the blogosphere.  I can understand the pressure he was under; as a front-runner in the race for the Democratic nomination, he would have been fried alive for a vote which some would (incorrectly) assume was harboring terrorism.  And since the vote was going to pass anyway, I suppose what he actually voted would not have changed anything.

Also not changing anything was Senator McCain -- who chose to make himself absent that day to campaign.  Not quite a "yay" vote, but a slimy evasion nonetheless.

So -- was that the deciding factor for me? Was that the dealbreaker? It was for a while. I'd like to not think of myself as a one issue voter, but this issue was at the forefront of my mind for quite a while. Not the economic plan. Not foreign policy. But the notion of what our country had become where someone had felt pressured to vote a certain way as to not have been caught up in a witch hunt.  I will admit that I felt better when Joe Biden was picked to be Obama's running mate -- someone who, in some ways, could balance the ticket a bit more.

But if that wasn't the deciding factor -- what was it? What would prompt me not to vote for Senator Obama on November 4? Why would I feel compelled not to?

Look -- any presidential race is a tough issue. This one, for many, is even more difficult. I have to look on what I feel is the bright side -- a certainty, in my eyes, that either of these two Senators will do a hell of a better job than the Commander in Chief over the past eight years.  I feel that, on some level, I'm a winner despite who wins. It will be a bittersweet, Pyrrhic victory -- as the state of the Union is such that we're in such economic and diplomatic turmoil. Whoever comes in will have his job cut out for him. I know that there are lofty, if not impossible, expectations which will not be met, but I feel that only one of the candidates will come close to pushing this country into a new direction from where it's all but stalled over the past eight years.  And he's the one I stood in line today for over two hours to fill out a walk-in absentee ballot for. Of the two candidates who have a chance at winning, he's simply the better choice for me and for, I believe, the vast majority of the population of the country. He's a leader with a vision and an implementation strategy, and he's been connecting with people by giving them hope for a brighter tomorrow.  Hell -- if I could vote for the guy twice, I would. But I can't.

And that's why I will not be voting for Barack Obama on Tuesday.