So this morning I took a new step in my involvement in our country's politics: I voted in the primary election. Believe it or not, this was my first time voting in a primary, mostly due to misconceptions about what it meant for my future voting. I've been registered with the state as an independent, and now I'm technically registered as a Democrat, but I can change that each time I vote if I want to.
WARNING: PERSONAL POLITICAL VIEWS BELOW!
The main reason I decided to vote in this year's primary is because it's such a close race. And for once, I felt like I was actually voting for someone instead of against someone. I was blessed with the problem of choosing between two good candidates, each of them with their own chance to write a piece of American history. How awesome!
So what's a girl to do? Do some research. I don't trust political ads, and when I started my research, none were really running in Columbus. So I went to the candidates' websites and read through them extensively. I took into consideration their positions on my most important issues: education, the economy, and Iraq. I noted how their websites were organized, and who they were trying to reach out to. There are actually a lot of similarities between the two, but in the end, I found my winner: Barack Obama. Yes, I've jumped on the Obama train (if you couldn't tell by his campaign logo on the right side of this page).
Here's why:
--He's positive. He has a message of hope and change. And yes, I know that hope and a desire for change alone won't get anything done. Keep reading.
--He is less divisive than Hillary. I don't have a problem with Hillary, but there are a lot of people who do, both in the general population and on Capitol Hill. To get things done, you have to be able to build consensus, and I think Obama will do a better job of that.
--His website gave much more detail on how he's actually going to tackle the big issues. Hillary's gave broad generalizations, saying things like, "I'm going to fix No Child Left Behind," while Obama's actually laid out, step by step, how he would do it.
--He appeals to my generation. He gets us, and he doesn't discount our importance. We may not be rich, and we may not have a lot of influence in the "right" circles, but we're important, too. Just because many of us haven't voted in the past doesn't mean we won't. We just need to be inspired and know how to do it. All of Obama's advertising, in Columbus at least, includes information on what times polls are open and what ID to bring. The doorhanger left at my house yesterday even told me where my polling place was. I've never seen this from any political candidate.
--I have reservations about having a Clinton in the White House again. I was really too young to truly understand Bill Clinton's stances, and my strongest memory of him has to do with a blue dress and a cigar. I don't have any strong negative feelings against Bill. But I don't think our founding fathers wanted to have two families controlling the presidency for 24 years (at least). It just doesn't seem right. And I worry about how much influence Bill will have during Hillary's presidency. I want our first female president to stand strongly on her own two feet, and not constantly have people questioning whether it's really her making the decisions. I don't think Hillary's a pushover, but you can't tell me Bill won't chime in.
I could probably go on for another two pages, but that's pretty tedious and you all probably don't care that much.
One last thing: voting was soooooo much better this time around. Instead of 2 voting machines, there were 16. And they were the cool, touch-screen kind. There were also some very young volunteers at the polls, wearing shirts advertising "Youth at the Booth." I found this on the program:
In conjunction with the Franklin County Board of Elections, Kids Voting Central Ohio
is promoting Youth at the Booth to Franklin County high school seniors who are 17
years of age, students in good standing, and having permission from their parents
and their schools.
The goal of this project is to recruit and train at least 25 seniors from each
participating high school to work at the polls on Election Day. Students are required
to work from 5:30 a.m. until at least 8:30 p.m. on November 6, 2007,for the General
Election, and March 4, 2008, for the Presidential Primary Election. Students will earn
$110 for attending a mandatory training session and working on Election Day.
Pretty cool, if you ask me.
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