Vote

Compiled by Andrew Yang

By the time this is published, President-Elect Obama will be President Obama.

Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings on the matter, I’m sure everyone can agree that the election of ‘08 was a historic election – a fast paced and intense drama that made us think about what it means to be an American, a citizen, a Christian, and much more.

Wondering what exactly motivated people to vote the way they did at the polls, we did a completely informal survey of various people, asking them why they voted the way they did. The responses we received were varied and thought provoking.

All the six responders are young people aged between 20 and 30, and all consider themselves serious Christians.

~ I voted for President-Elect Barack Obama because I believe America is in need of a BIG change. What has been happening the last 8 years can no longer happen. Fresh ideas and new strategies are much needed. I may not completely agree with everything that President-Elect Obama stands for (such as his stance on abortion), but I believe that on a greater scale, he is able to help lead this country. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” It is time for the people of God to humble themselves and to continue praying for our government officials as 1 Timothy 2:1-2 directs us: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” So as much as Obama ‘s slogan is “Change we can believe in”, we as a people have our responsibilities as well.
~ Cassie

~ For the 08 election I voted for Bob Barr (independent Libertarian). I would have voted for Ron Paul but he was not a legitimate ballot choice for CA. To me, McCain and Obama are both the same. Both stand somewhere near the middle. One is slightly to the right and the other slightly to the left. Both have the same attitude toward fixing the economy: not really fixing anything but just throwing bailout money after bailout money to “rescue” zombie corporations that can’t stand on their own. None of them are willing to make significant changes to the way things are done. Someone once said Republicans and Democrats are the same party, just different marketing, and I think that’s true. Anything they pass they pass with pork. Fiscally neither have real differences, they just use their social issues as a hook for voters.

Both answer to lobbyists and not to the people. Fiscal responsibility is more important to me than any social causes the candidates believe in. Obama and McCain are both fiscally liberal and not conservative, but differ slightly on their social looks.
~ Richard

~ I voted for Obama. I was a Hillary supporter, but she didn’t make it through the primary. In comparison to McCain, Obama’s policies are a lot better and favorable to the general public. For example, his visions on bringing the troops back from Iraq, medical health plan, education services. I believe at this time of the year, none of us would still like to spend millions per day and have our American troops fighting over at Iraq for an endless war. McCain still spoke of lesser government regulation for the private enterprises. Yet, during the economic turmoil, most of us want Obama to save our economic situation. At the same time, McCain’s running mate, Palin isn’t very attractive in the aspect of political experience and leadership. She doesn’t have enough experience in ruling our country. For McCain to choose someone like that made me wonder about his credibility. McCain used his war experience as part of his slogan. Yet, at this point of time, very few of us value it as much as Obama’s call for “change.”

I also think Obama is young and African American. He symbolizes change. I am happy that it’s an African American that will be governing our country. It really shows the fruit of civil rights struggle and our social progression. I believe not only will he make a political difference in our states, at the same time, he will inspire more African Americans and minorities in partaking in political arena. If you have watched Obama’s debate, you would understand that he presented himself as a well-spoken and confident man. At the same time, I’m amazed at how he used people, especially when he is trying to select his cabinet.
~ Sammy

~ I considered the 2008 presidential election the most important of my lifetime. Some of the reasons for my consideration are that the United States has a dire financial predicament and it is involved in a Global War on Terrorism. As a disabled Army veteran I believe that the United States is right for fighting terrorism and as a follower of common sense I know that the best way to get out of the financial situation is to simplify taxes and cut government spending. With what you already know about me it is no shock that I voted for Senator John McCain. Another reason I voted for McCain is that he defines marriage as a union between a man and woman when Obama does not believe that gay marriage is wrong. I get my definition of marriage from the Holy Bible which defines marriage as a holy sacrament to God and homosexuality as an immoral sin. Also, McCain is now, and has always been, pro-life while Obama is pro-choice. Once again the Bible makes this decision for me through Exodus 21. Exodus 21 states that abortion is murder and the Ten Commandments define murder as sin.

Another factor for me was that I knew very little about Obama. This was not an issue for Senator John McCain because Americans know his lengthy voting record, but Obama has not held office for long. In fact, Obama has declined to cast a vote one-hundred-seventeen times in his very short time in the Senate. Simply, I do not know who Barrack Hussein Obama is or what he stands for. And the more I knew about him, the more I disliked him. He associated with Bill Ayers who is a murderous terrorist and his own Pastor Wright who cannot stop spewing hate and racist remarks. And the actions that the media label as “little things” such as not reciting the pledge of allegiance or wearing an American flag pin on the lapel of his coat are especially big things to me since I was willing to die for such freedoms. Though my candidate did not win, I will support the president-elect when he takes office as I believe every American should.
~ Josh

~ I voted for Obama. Here, in no particular order, are the reasons why:

1. After McCain chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate, I began to seriously doubt, for the first time, his decision-making abilities.
2. Obama is hip. He’s different. He’s young. I am very into hip, different, and young.
3. Quite frankly, I was getting a bit tired of the Republican merry-go-round. It’s time to let the Democrats have a real go at it.
4. I’m afraid that my nieces will grow up in a world where they’ll have to wear gas masks to go outdoors. I’m afraid that there may come a day when they’ll tell their children about how there used to be these things called plants and animals.
5. I was trying to absolve a 4-year bout of guilt, which resulted from having voted for Bush in 2004. That was the year when I discovered that it is never (ever EVER) a good idea for me to talk politics with my mother. I screamed at her that she was ridiculous to vote for someone simply because he said he was a Christian, then I slammed down the phone, threw things around my dorm for about a half hour, and then took up my absentee ballot and voted for Bush. My secret way of apologizing (shhh; she still thinks I voted for Kerry). In conclusion, guilt begets guilt.

Even though I did vote for Obama, I also almost didn’t vote for Obama. Here’s why:
1. He’s so... smooth. I know, I know, he’s a politician and that’s what they do, but he reminds me, creepily, of every sweet-talking bad-for-me boy I’ve fallen for since 1998.
2. Even though my concern for the environment, welfare, health insurance, et cetera should probably outweigh my care for such a teensy little issue as abortion, and even though I think I can understand why legalizing the practice might conceivably be a better solution to the larger problem, it still bugs me that I might, at some level, be excusing or condoning, well, murder.
3. Oprah scares me. I don’t want her anywhere near the White House.
~ Caren

~ Going into the elections I expected a lot from the candidates from both parties. I was looking for a candidate that was an experienced leader and represented my values. My values in general have been aligned with the Republican Party except for the area of social justice. As a registered Republican I naturally paid more attention to the Republican candidates at first. In my opinion one of the strongest strengths of John McCain was his 20 years in the Senate. McCain also has had a history of being able to cross party lines to gain results. Barack Obama was a young liberal Senator from Illinois who represented the social justice I wanted to see in this country. The speeches he gave on race and other topics during the election showed his willingness to approach the weaknesses of this country.

For most of the election I was torn on who to support because both candidates had their strengths and weaknesses. For majority of the election I chose to support McCain because I believed that his experience would be the most important factor in leading this country. But as the election progressed McCain and his staff started to make decisions that I thought were not wise. McCain started to change his platform and started to take more conservative positions. He chose to stress that he was a conservative rather than stress his political experience. He also decided to choose a relatively unknown governor, Sarah Palin to become his running mate. I was worried that her lack of experience in the federal government would weaken a McCain administration. All these changes made me doubt McCain’s experience and ability to be bipartisan.

A week before Election Day I decided that I would vote for Barack Obama. I voted for Obama because of his strong ideals and vision. When I voted for him I believed in his ideals but I did not trust in his ability to follow up on his promises. Even though I have my doubts, it is my sincere hope that Obama will be able to make wise decisions.
~ Gabe