Who is running this show?

KB asked me to voice some opinion on the upcoming election. Thanks for the props, Bob, although I am not a brainchild in these matters. However, I am highly discouraged this election season. I do know that the economic mess we're in is not the result of one administration, but a couple--and all of those folks we vote in. It makes my stomach turn. I'm getting sick of the blame game emails, Democrat and Republican, and actually sent out an email telling people to STOP sending me this crap. And, it is crap, indeed. Last night's debate was depressing. I quit halfway through because it seemed one jab and attack after another...which is fine for a debate, but I didn't hear much about plans and strategy.

Of course, I am concerned about Obama's ties to Ayers and Jeremiah Wright. I trust the WSJ article. I have no reason to not trust WSJ so far. Wright's Black Liberation Theology is, frankly, horrible. Of course, we all do stupid things in our early years...we're radical and edgy. However, I sense that Obama has bigotry issues (not just with race) of his own that affect his agenda. I also tried to picture him meeting with Ahmadinejad and broke out into a cold sweat. Experience-wise, and because of his past attachments, he is simply not up to the job.

McCain scares me, too. He had my vote in the beginning--until I realized that his character may not be all that it's cracked up to be, and his answers last night weren't any more impressive than Obama's. Because of age and experience, I expected more from him. I honor McCain because of his military experience. I believe this gives him a definite edge in foreign affairs--Obama lacks experience, and truthfully, interest in our military. It takes the mind of a soldier to comprehend what is happening. And, hearing from all the friends and family I have and have had in Iraq...we surely are doing good over there. Americans are not suffering this war! We sacrifice NOTHING! We carry on as if nothing is happening and then stand back, aghast at the loss, and point fingers and then move on with our lives. This war is causing the highest number of closed brain injury in history, if I'm correct. How many of us have visited our troops in hospitals? How many stand at the airport and greet them? How many are getting involved at all? Precious little.

Okay, I digress. McCain knows war, he knows win and loss. He knows the ugly side of government, too. But, he picked the wrong person as a running mate and this is what dropped him off of my radar. This was clearly a political move...not clever nor calculating as Republicans like to imagine, nor did he pick another "maverick." It is not a pick that serves our country at all. We're not supposed to vote based on the VP, but we are literally a heartbeat away from Sarah Palin becoming the president of our country. She does not impress me one bit. Republicans loved to point the no-experience finger at Obama...and then, Palin?

I am more perturbed with Americans than anything else. We have gotten ourselves into this campaign mess ourselves. Our complacency is disgusting. We rail against our leaders because of our dependence on oil and "demand" alternatives--but what are we willing to sacrifice about anything? We blame our economy on leaders, but what level of greed in all sectors, private and government, have gotten us to this point? What level of entitlement do we all wallow in? We deserve the best of all things, right? Our leaders have fought tooth, nail, and sold our souls to keep us happy and maintain our lifestyles, and we've let 'em. Well, we're going to lose our way of living if we don't start thinking about what we are doing to set these things in motion. A recent poll asked, what are you most concerned about this election? The answers:

Economy 73% 98,779
National security 16% 21,692
War in Iraq 6% 8,097
Health care 3% 4,235


Everything falls by the wayside when our own livelihood is threatened. We must be, collectively, the most selfish nation on the earth.

I am also sick of the two-party system. It's a big game and we lose. When will Americans stop having to vote for the lesser of two evils and have a candidate they can stand for? When will we say enough? When will we demand the media start giving coverage to the "other" candidates. When will people like Ron Paul be allowed to take part in the debates? When will THEIR conventions be aired on national television instead of being ignored a few blocks away?

This season, I'm "wasting" my vote and voting 3rd party. Bob Barr, a Libertarian, is on the Texas ticket. He is a candidate along the lines of Ron Paul, and he fits my "less government" beliefs. I suggest that anyone who is unsure about who to vote for send a message that the election fare this year is despicable. Then, get involved. As a teen and college student, I always worked for my candidates--on a city and national scope. That fell away with kids and work, but we need to start getting behind people we think will work for us--for real. At the very least, we need to contact our representatives and contact them OFTEN to voice our opinions and stay on them. Right now, we've voted them in and the result is lethal for our country because the inmates are running the asylum.