[Election 2008] We know you've been bombarded by coverage of how amazinglyriffic it is that Utah is part of this so-called "National Primary" day. Don't roll your eyes and snort in disdain yet. Vote. For whomever. Just get out there and do it. Then roll and snort all you want. Wait, that didn't come out right ...Meanwhile, maybe you'd like to tell us your candidate of choice and why. City Weekly's editor and president have had their say. Now it's your turn. (Scott Renshaw)
I was just at my polling place a little while ago. I didn't have any trouble getting in; I gave my name, they found it on the list, and gave me the smartchip card so I could use one of the voting machines. Even though the polling place happened to be an LDS church building, they didn't give me any problems about being registered as a Democrat.
ReplyDeleteOne problem I noticed was that those candidates who had announced their withdrawal from the race were still listed. Are they trying to get people to throw away their votes? That smacks a bit too much of "conspiracy theory" to be very credible, but I do recommend caution when you go to the polling place. Make sure your favorite candidate hasn't dropped out.
As it happened, my favorite candidate had dropped out. My first choice was Bill Richardson, because I'd like to see this country use more diplomacy and less military force. His political resume includes Governor of New Mexico, where his financial policies were actually fairly conservative, and Ambassador to the United Nations under the Clinton administration.
Now that Richardson is gone, my next choice is Barack Obama. I don't discriminate on the basis of race or gender. I think it would be great to have a female president. But I think Hillary is the wrong woman.
We need a president who will make the right choices. Obama's instincts were right on when he opposed Bush's request to authorize the use of force against Iraq. Hillary pushed far too hard in favor of giving Bush that approval. I can't believe that resolution passed with such overwhelming support.
Hillary thinks she has all the answers for the health care problem in this country, but I disagree with her plan. She should study the systems they have in places like Germany and Australia. Obama is also concerned about health care, but I'm hoping he'll be smarter about studying existing systems and seeking recommendations.
On the Republican side, McCain is the only first-tier candidate who spoke out against the use of torture. But he still believes in the use of military force. He said he would keep a U.S. presence in Iraq for a hundred years or more, citing Korea and Japan as examples. A precedent does not a justification make. Aren't we supposed to remember history so we don't doom ourselves to repeat it?
$deity forbid the race should come down to Giuliani and Clinton. Or Romney and Clinton. If it comes down to Ron Paul vs. Clinton, I'm going with Paul. Anyone else vs. Clinton, I'm voting independent. Ralph Nader formed an exploratory committee; let's see if he gets into the race.
I voted for Hillary Clinton. Take that, Utah Hillary Bashers!
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