The Presidential Election

In Creating Happiness by Barbara Jacoby

In a matter of days now, we will be voting for the new President of the United States.  I have been following the campaigning for more than a year, trying to understand the issues in order to make an informed decision.  As time passes, I become more disenchanted as each day goes by.  I don’t feel any closer to making a choice than I did all of those many months ago when the campaigning for nomination began.

I am not one of those people who likes to have big political debates with others.  I like to examine the issues and come to an independent decision based upon what the candidates have said they plan to do.  Many times however, what a candidate has promised never comes to fruition or the programs that have been laid out have all gone by the wayside.

This time around, I have seen a greater fervor based upon political party than ever before.  Candidates are not debating with passion as they are afraid that they will appear angry and that would turn off voters.  Neither candidate is saying much of anything about their individual plans if they get into office.  The pot shots taken at the candidates are getting nastier and meaner and have become justified under the guise that it is just satirical and humorous and clever.

I must say that if I hear one more time that the situation in which we currently find ourselves is because of the administration of the last eight years, I think that I will scream.  There are factors in play here that have shaped this economy going back to the early 90’s.   The Congress for the last two years has been controlled by the Democrats and there are plenty of legislators on both sides of the aisle who have sold their souls because of greed and power.

I have reached the point that I don’t believe any of the politicians.  If you want to buy into the blame game, there is plenty of it to go around.  What our government has done or chosen not to do is what has caused the current economic situation and I have had enough.  Someone has suggested that we look at each of the races for our own legislators and vote for everyone who is not an incumbent. 

I think that that idea is worth looking at, not so much to vote out every incumbent but to seriously look at those Congress men and women who represent our districts.  It is worth checking out their records and deciding how their votes and behavior have measured up to being a fair representation of their constituents’ desires.  Then based upon our representatives’ actions, each of us can decide with our vote whether we want that person to remain in office.  That is the best way to really be heard when we go in to that voting booth on Election Day!