Consumed

I have to admit it, I'm consumed by the election these days. I didn't pay too much attention in past elections; I always voted Republican because I thought that was in my personal best interest--specifically as it relates to being a business owner.

This time however, I decided to take a bit more notice. Mainly because I was surprised that McCain won the Republican primary. He just seems a little too emotionally charged for me. That's something I noticed about Bush, but chose to ignore when I voted for him.. twice. I didn't want to make the same mistake three times.

At the same time, Obama was gaining momentum. Very begrudgingly, I decided to see why he was causing such a stir. After reading his books and researching his stance on the issues, I decided I just liked the guy. He has character. He reminds me of Mark (my husband). He's not emotionally driven. He's very level headed and his personality is even-keeled. He's an amazing communicator. He explains himself superbly (not-so-much like Mark). I don't like where he stands on some issues, but I can appreciate his ideas. He has the attributes of a natural leader; one of which is to seek compromise for the better good. That’s what it seemed like to me anyway. When I started to consider defecting from the Republican ticket, I made it a point to read every single article that I could find about the election.

Subsequently, several events in this campaign have left me so disappointed. When McCain aired the celebrity ads comparing Obama to Britney and Paris and the other ad where he mocked Obama for being “The One” I was really taken aback. I couldn’t believe that McCain deviated so far away from the issues. But what’s far worse, is it worked. Immediately after those ads were aired McCain’s standing improved in the polls.

When Palin gave her speech at the RNC, I was disappointed again. I’m certain she’s an amazing woman in many regards. But, character is very important to me. All people have hopes and desires. They have visions of how things should be. Those visions differ for everyone. The fact that Sarah Palin’s vision differ somewhat from mine is not my problem. My problem is character. To me, character is defined not by what someone is trying to achieve, but how they go about doing it. Her approach seemed just a few steps above the bullies I used to be scared of in school. She was mean and insulting and proud of it. She seemed very provincial to me. Rather than appreciating differences and pointing out why her ideas are better, she made fun of anyone who disagreed with her. I swear, I felt like I was in high school. Her approach was so incendiary and counterproductive to unifying the country. There are ways to make progress by not alienating everyone who disagrees with you. That’s what makes a good leader. I know because she is a woman she has a tougher road to travel, but that can't justify the abandonment of civility.

But, her methods worked as seen by the polls. This past week McCain has put out several ads that have been lies. When a McCain spokesperson was asked why they are doing this, he said because it works! He said that when McCain was talking about the issues, he never received any media time. The media is flocking to the negative ads and the public is responding by increasing their support for McCain. I just don’t get it. They are preying on the uninformed; the people who don’t have the time, don’t want to waste the time they have, or don’t have the capacity otherwise to sift through the garbage to get to the issues. They are counting on people staying uninformed and reacting.. overreacting to sensationalized, dishonest headlines.

If those tactics win the election what will they do for running our country? Imagine if we start thumbing our noses at Iran.. North Korea.. Russia.

Here is the definition of diplomacy:

1 : the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations
2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility

I'm a Republican and the McCain/Palin campaign has made me hostile! I shudder to think of how the rest of the world will regard us if they are elected.