Posted this on my Facebook this morning; a spirited discussion followed, so if you're friends with me there, do go check it out.
After
watching the latest debate and getting a lot of helpful info from all of you,
here are the scrawled and still woefully less informed than I’d like (by my own
fault) impressions of an undecided voter:
I
think President Obama has accomplished more over the past four years than I was
giving him credit for, particularly in terms of efforts to end war and to
advance equal rights across gender and other lines. I’d still like to know more
about how he handled the Detroit situation, because my main concern with him is
that after a term in office, he hasn’t really done much to help our economy.
Moreover my concern with President Obama is that he doesn’t give an impression
that he feels like he needs to do more or that he will make an effort to work
much harder than he has. I don’t think his first term was a complete failure,
but if he considered it a huge success, I’m disappointed. I also don’t like how
quickly he seems to go to the “well I wanted to do this, but the Republicans
wouldn’t let me” card, because it tells me he will use that as an excuse rather
than move to the middle and find compromise Bill Clinton style. I feel like
President Obama has something of an unearned cockiness and I’d be concerned
he’d be willing to stick to business as usual rather than push to do better. I
line up with him on social issues 100%, but I don’t want to vote simply based
on that because I think there is much more at stake in this election.
Having
lived in a state where he was governor, I know Mitt Romney is a smart, capable
guy who could potentially do a good job as President, but he hasn’t really
demonstrated that to me, at least not in his recent public actions or in this
most recent debate. He keeps saying he has plans to fix the economy, and he’s a
guy with the intelligence and background to do it, but I felt like every time
he was pressed for details on what that plan was, he ducked the question (and
if he’s already said what said plan is, I apologize); the part of the debate
where President Obama noted that Governor Romney’s plans would cost trillions
of dollars and Governor Romney didn’t give a particularly eloquent
counterargument concerned me. I also worry about Governor Romney’s awkwardness
as a public speaker and his gaffes; yes, I do think they matter given what a
large stage he’ll be on. I didn’t care about the whole “binders” thing (feels
like a mountain out of a molehill), but it did strike me when he said he helped
the women in his employ by (I’m paraphrasing) giving them hours that allowed
them to pick up their kids from school and how (I’m simplifying) one of his gun
control solutions is that people who have kids should get married to provide a
more stable home.
At
the end of the day, as noted, I line up with the President on social issues; I
feel like Governor Romney should/could have a better grasp on economic issues,
but I’m waiting for him to demonstrate it in full. The kicker for me will
likely be foreign policy, since as I’ve said in the past, that’s the one area
where I feel like if it gets mishandled the most people die.
If
the election were today, admittedly I would vote for President Obama, but more
because of a “devil you know” stance than anything else. I’m not blown away by
either candidate (though both have their strong points). Ultimately, I hope one
candidate does actually inspire to vote for them because I believe in them, not
because they’re the lesser of two evils (strong word, probably unnecessary),
but the clock is winding down.
Regardless
of where my vote goes, I’m glad this election has encouraged me to at least try
to be more active in the process and discourse, and more than anything, I am
grateful to all of you who have shared your knowledge and opinions with me; I
encourage you to keep doing so.
Thanks.
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