Recently, I realized that I am in a leveraged position to affect the coming presidential elections. I am a resident of one of the "swing" states, and for the first time, I am in possession of an absentee ballot. The ongoing clash between President Obama's brilliant oratory, and his dismal results, erased the natural instinct of voting for a sitting president. Now, I am faced with the grave responsibility of choosing.
I am not a one-party nor a one-issue voter. I vote for a candidate following a gut-feel assessment of his personality, platform, and previous accomplishments. I realize that none of these factors are an indication of future performance, but that's all we have. I liked Barack Obama's personality in the previous elections, and I still think he is a nice guy. Mitt Romney was an unknown, and therefore suspect. His 47% comment didn't help. However, in the presidential debate, the haze lifted, and he emerged as a clear-speaking clear-thinking politician.
The platforms of the two candidates are clearly different. My economic views are in line with what Mitt Romney presented. I am for small government, lower taxes. and I have reservations about Obama-care. Mitt Romney's foreign policy is a bit more hawkish than I would like, but I hope that the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan will prevent him from initiating an unnecessary war. President Obama, the presumed dove, dismayed me with the surge in Afghanistan, and his subsequent actions around the globe indicate a naive and ineffective statesman.
The score so far: Personality- Both are acceptable, with Obama leading; economic policy-Romney; foreign policy-Romney. Yet I feel queasy with this outcome. I am not sure that I can vote for a man that thinks abortion should be illegal, and belongs to a party that is dominated by radical christians. I can't explain why this concern became so prominent now, and not with previous Republican candidates.
The dictionary defines Dilemma as "A situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternatives." Any comments that would get my ass off the uncomfortable horns of this dilemma, would be greatly appreciated.
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ReplyDeleteWow my least eloquent response was published. Figures.
ReplyDeleteI like Obamacare because my insurance now covers a mammogram and a checkup once a year. At last a little value.
I will not vote for Romney because of his stand on women's right to choose. I am not voting for any Republican because of their ceaseless attacks on women's reproductive and contraceptive issues. It was a Republican who declared that rape can be legitimate.
Lisa DeWitt
Hi Lisa. I deleted your "least eloquent response".
DeleteThe more I think about the abortion issue, the fuzzier it becomes. We translate moral beliefs into law all the time, and these laws inevitably reduce someone's rights in order to enhance another person's rights. It's a matter of cultural judgement where the line is drawn. Could the Republicans be right, and the abortion debate does belong in the legislature and not the courts? If so, does the candidate's view on this one issue disqualify him from being a president?
I believe that legislature should not be creating laws that impact a woman's decision on what is best for her body. Of course it is a tricky issue, the very nature of abortion is fraught with moral dilemma. But the bottom line-it has to be the choice of the woman. It is HER body. The pro-choicers have gained enormous ground in their anti-abortion fight. For instance, Texas has closed down Planned Parenthoods by blocking funding. In many communities, Planned Parenthood was the ONLY place for low-income women to find affordable health. Reproductive health care is not optimal health care but at minimum, it offered some screening.
ReplyDeleteRemember that book we both read 20 years ago? The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. This is the future I worry about.
For me, yes, Women's right to choose is a deal breaker. I also would not "choose" Romney because the Republicans refused to vote for the Fair Pay act. He wants to repeal the Affordable Health Care act--a program positively affecting me. I also fear what will happen to the environment because he advocates more fracking and who knows what will happen to Alaska with all the drilling.
I don't think Romney will do a better job in dealing with Israel. The fact that he is "good" friends with Netanyahu doesn't impress me. And I haven't seen a better proposal on the Iran issue.
I hope Obama is elected another term. He inherited an economy that was in horrible shape. If he has another 4 years I believe he will work on reforming the corrupt financial systems that primarily caused our financial meltdown.
I'll stop now. I enjoy your blog. Hope all is well with you.
Lisa
Lisa
DeleteI am trying to see if I can make a distinction between my views on abortion, which are similar to yours, and my choice for president.
A few days ago, Doron sent me a link to an interesting report covering the two candidates.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/choice-2012/
The report clearly demonstrates that Mitt Romney flip-flopped on the issue of abortion. In this case, flip-flopping sounds good, because it means he is not a fanatic, and will probably not push the issue.
I meant pro-lifers have gained ground
ReplyDelete