Concerns

This is probably the first presidential election that I've been into. Four years ago, I was in college and more focused on my studies and preparing for student teaching. Eight years ago, I wasn't old enough to vote!

Four years ago, and the midterm elections in between, I have voted republican and conservative for two reasons 1) My parents did and told me how to vote those first few times 2) I am prolife and am conservative in many other ways.

Well, I have approached the pending presidential election with a much more open mind. I wanted to vote for the candidate that really represented my values and beliefs on where this nation should be going. As I have tried to sort out fact from fiction and even come to conclusions of what I believe, I have found this task to be nauseating!

I still believe that my conservative values and beliefs conflict with most in the democratic party. Even after my research. I have watched portions of the Democratic National Convention (hard not to since it is the only thing on tv these days). Last night, "THE GREAT ONE" Barak Obama spoke and formally accepted the nomination (just in case you were in a far off land with no access to tv, internet, radio, or civilization and were unaware of this fact.)

I was impressed with his oratory skills. He has amazing presence and charisma. His daughters are too cute for words. His wife seems strong and confident. They seem to have a great relationship. He does seem to really care for the working people of this country.

While I will not go into all the areas in which I disagree with Obama and his plans if he becomes President, a couple of things concern me.

Does it not concern the public, the media, or anyone in the Democratic party that the terrorist and evil people groups around the world are for one, under the assumption that Obama is the next president, but also excited about it? When my parents were in Israel, the Palestinians commented how excited and eager they are for Obama to become president. Does that not worry anyone else? I'm sorry but if a group known for their prejudice and terroistic tactics is excited about a president, we need a better guy! Terrorists should be afraid of whatever leader we have in power. It urks me that the media has not shone any light on the fact the Middle East and its evil powers are so in favor of Obama as president.

I get really sick and tired of the democrats complaining and blaming the past 8 years of 'terrible suffering and economic turmoil' on President Bush. First of all, in the first few months of President Bush's term, he was faced with a crisis that no other president had faced before him. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 completely crashed our current ecomonic strength. Am I the only one that remembers how the stock market crashed? How gas prices went through the roof? I thought that Bush did an excellent job in bringing our country out of that economic disaster without many permanant effects. It has really only been the last 2 years or so that the nation has been slowing down economically. We have hit record highs on the Dow. There have been a lot of jobs created. There is always going to be an ebb and flow to an economy. When you have greedy oil companies who are sharing record profits, it begins to trickle down. It affects more than our gas prices. It affects our food, cost of living, transportation, etc. However, all of these increase in costs have come so fast that employers cannot keep up with the cost of living and do not have the resources or have had the time to compensate that in employee benefits and wages. The past two years haven't been the greatest, but don't go blaming Bush for it all. He has tried to get us out of this slump- only to encounter camera happy opponents.

I'm still trying to figure out this whole election thing. I'm still trying to figure out who stands best for my beliefs and values. But, I'm just about ready for it all to be over!