OK, I'll jump in. I'm voting Libertarian-Bob Barr (non-Republican for the first time, incidentally). I went back and forth for a long time between McCain and Obama, and I cannot, in good conscience, vote the "lesser of the two evils," which is what I feel like I'd be doing. I don't support Obama's views on abortion, and I don't support McCain's on the economy or animal rights. And I really don't want my vote to come down to just one issue.
Texas is predicted to go McCain, so, truthfully, I don't think my "meager" vote will make a difference. But I will be able to fulfill my civic duty without compromising my conscience.
Thanks for asking. :)

Ooooohhh.....this ought get good. Way to rock the boat supa!

I feel the need to vote. Unfortunately I feel that I will be voting for "the lesser of two evils." They are all dishonest, they all have skeletons in their closets and they all have a hidden agenda.

1. I will vote for McCain/Palin. Half of America gave him a hard time for choosing Palin because they said he was playing politics. Well, DUH. Of course he was--he's a politician! Every single thing they do is playing politics.

2. Why? Because I would rather see a liberal in the office than a socialist. We are (not so) slowly losing our freedoms. The public is so blinded by what the media throws at them. Here's an example---the "recession" a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. An example of what is going on is this: say a bank projects 6% growth and they only end up with 5% growth----this is NOT NEGATIVE GROWTH. Yes, it is less than what they were projecting, but it is still growth. This kind of thing is what is happening and liberal media is calling it a recession. Our country is being scared into not spending their money which is just making things worse. What we need is for the government to get the heck out of the pot because all they are doing is stirring it into a huge mess. We should all scoff at this bailout. The market ALWAYS corrects itself....ALWAYS.

You're right Ashley, it is just an election. God is in control.

And I'm spent.

I am voting for McCain/Palin.

Obama's stance and plan for health care completely freaks me out. It sounds really European to me, which doesn't really seem to be working all that well. If we publicize healthcare, quality will inevitably fall down the tubes.

That's my main thing.

McCain/Palin - The only 2 we can trust our country with in an important time. Obama is a very nice man, but I do not agree with his views and he is not experienced. His plan creates too big of a government and that is the last thing we need right now. And I am pro-life!

This is really gonna stir it up for some people. I'm NOT voting...and for 2 main reasons. 1) I did not register in time. It just slipped away from me before I could realize it. And 2) I don't like either candidate. So far, neither of them have answered any of the questions posed to them in either debate. They both skip around the issues and spend time mudslinging. I have become so apathetic. Fighting and smearing each other is not what we need to hear right now.
I realize that I should use my right to vote since it has been a hard battle for us to get. But at the same time, I cannot consciously vote for someone who does not know what they are doing...which seems to be both.
Anyway, I'm done now.

Just for a little fun with all this let's be honest for a moment, McCain is not pro-life in anything other than rhetoric and neither are the Rebublicans. Think on this.

The "pro-life" GOP controlled every aspect of the federal government from 2000-2006. Had John McCain and his fellow Republicans truly wanted to end legal abortion, they could have passed Congressman Ron Paul's Sanctity of Life Act. Year after year, Dr. Paul introduced this bill, and year after year, it sat and collected dust in the document room on Capitol Hill.

The Bush administration this month is quietly cutting off birth control supplies to some of the world’s poorest women in Africa.Senator McCain stands with President Bush in opposing certain crucial efforts to help women reduce unwanted pregnancies in Africa and Asia. This act will undoubtedly lead to numerous abortion that could have been prevented had Bush/McCain not cut off aid.(and let's not forget we are spending $10 billion a month on the was. How much could broth control really cost?)

And let's not forget about all those babies in Bagdad and all over Iraq? McCain doesn't seem so pro-life when he drops bombs on them? Are we to believe pro-life only matters when they are in the uterus or only American?

As for the "liberal media" causing the recession, would you call the "Fair and balanced" Fox news liberal? They've been calling this a recession for weeks and have even called this the worst crisis, since the Great Depression? And I seriously doubt more spending will fix the economy, that's what got us here in the first place, remember it is a credit crisis, people have over spent.

What I want to know is when did being a follower of Jesus mean you have to support the GOP?

Who am I voting for? I don't know yet. If I had to vote today probably Obama, he is the only one who makes since right now. All McCain did in the last election was bash Obama and never talked about what he will do. So I guess right now I am with "that one." However, there are a little under 4 weeks left so I won't say I am not above changing.

And lastly your vote only matters to the point of your realm of influence. If your influence realm is small then no it really won't matter except in the local elections. If your influence realm is larger then yes it will matter, because your one vote will have the ability to affect others who will listen to your voice. Yeah I know it sounds like jr. high all over again and in some ways, politics are.

Oh and one other note. I lived in Germany for a summer and fell in love with many things over there, healthcare being one. I think Obama is on the right track there, doesn't have it nailed down all the way, but McCain's plan is just plain suicide.

Sorry I'm so lengthy, I was a Political Science major before I got called into ministry.

Great post Jamin. I have been saying the same thing for a while about the pro-life issue. If the only reason you are voting Republican is because you are pro-life, then you need to demand change from your legislators, because they have not done anything to change the fact that abortion is still legal after being in power for many, many years.

1. I am voting for Obama
2. Because McCain's voice makes him sound like a child molester (and some other reasons)
3. I think meager citizens can make a difference when they are led by the Spirit of God, which is rare in politicians, but sadly also rare in the Church. I am more apt to expect and demand change in/from the latter, however.

PS: Making abortion illegal will not necessarily change women's motivations to have one.

I am such a lunatic. ;)

I am glad to hear someone else point out that this not a single issue election. I am also sad that we feel our vote will only count if we choose one of the lesser evils.

Ralph Nader is a favorite of mine but since Alabama tends to lean toward the republican party I am afraid that by voting for Nader, I am in essence casting a vote away from Obama. That said, my willingness to consider compromise and vote for someone I don't agree with over someone who I believe will damage what is left of our health care system is what keeps me up at night.

Truth be told I think a good look in the mirror might solve some of our major problems. How many of us are willing to let go of our hard earned money and help our neighbor. How many of us will stop spending more than we make just b/c we can. If we all did it willingly then the government that has become SO corrupt might not have so much power.

Sorry, being pro life is not the only reason I vote GOP. I do not support raising taxes on anyone. If Obama is elected then my family will have to pay even higher taxes than we do now. Obama claims he is going to lower taxes for most Americans. The problem with that is the bottom 50% of income earners do not pay taxes, they get tax credits. Our government is spending too much and the wealthy are being taxed to death in this country... I support lower taxes and smaller government.

By the way, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer because they both keep doing what made them that way.

The more the government gets involved with this financial crisis the worse it will get. We are in this current crisis because the Clinton administration forced lenders to give loans to people with poor credit scores who now are unable to make their mortgage payments. Wow!!! Who would have thought people with poor credit scores would not be able to make a mortgage payment???

McCain is not my first choice for President, but Obama is by far the last!

If the rich are getting richer, what's so bad about requiring them to pay more taxes? I always liked Robin Hood...

Huuummm... Jesse, what a novel idea. I keep thinking of the idea of Jesus asking me why I never fed the hungry or clothed the poor. I am pretty sure this was clearly a commmand not just a pretty good suggestion as long as the poor "deserve" it.

If Obama is elected only those who make more than $250,000 a year have to pay more taxes and honestly I've always liked Robin Hood too.

And just for a little history lesson one of the great faults of the federal government during the great depression was not getting involved. The depression actually started in '29, but the Feds didn't get involved until '33. This act prolonged the depression and cost more people in the long run. As a side note it is also the reason there are only 2 1/2 months between election and inauguration instead of the 4 months that where between Herbert Hoover and FDR.(There was to much lame duck time and the two administrations just couldn't get along.)

Also it was Bush's housing initiatives not Clinton's (check when all the foreclosures began. It was due to Bush/Bernarke policy.) It also isn't just the poor credit score people defaulting, it is the high wage earners as well. You can call your mortgage company and ask them the average yearly salary of those defaulting, you'd probably be really surprised.

The poor keep getting poorer because the rich are in control. That was why God instituted the year of Jubilee in the OT to prevent things like this.

And I'm still undecided in who I'm voting for, but I think Steve Jobs would make a good president. haha

Girl, you are brave! Adam and I have both decided to keep our opinions about the candidates private because of Adam's position and the amount of people from church that are on the net and in the blogger circle. Or maybe it's because we're afraid of getting stoned... But, I'd love the opportunity to discuss this in private. E-mail me if you want to talk: minister's wife to minister's wife ;). I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this.. danaellis78@hotmail.com.

what happened to personal responsibility? do you think the signers of the Declaration of Independence wanted MORE government when they decided to rebel against England? no. they wanted America to be a place where people could come and make their own way, with LESS oppressive involvement of the government.

now, since there is a division of church and state, i don't think it's the government's job to step in with mandatory and bureaucratic compassion where the church should be involved. efforts apart from God will fail. lives will not be changed. people will become (and already are) trapped in their dependence on the government to "help" them.

no response really, just a shout out to all the joe 6-packs out there (Palin's accent cracks me up)

I will reluctantly vote for the status quo over accelerated change in a bad direction. If there were a choice to vote for radical reform to what "used to be" I would vote in that direction.

I don't know who I am voting for. For me, McCain seems like the "lesser of two evils" like many people have pointed out, but honestly, I base that opinion on what the media has portrayed the two candidates to be. It's always been hard for me to make up my mind regarding politics because no matter what commercials we see, or websites we visit, or interviews we watch, everything will be biased toward one candidate or the other. And I have a hard time deciphering what the truth is. I go back & forth between the two candidates, and not voting at all. So, for the next month, I will continue to pray about what I will do and hopefully I will have my mind made up by election time. Regardless of how the election goes, the best thing we can do is pray that God's will be done in America. I know that doesn't mean we should not be proactive; I'm just saying we can't forget to pray.

I read everything, and so far nobody has mentioned the Supreme Court justices. I vote based on who I want to select the next Supreme Court justices. They are the ones who institute real and lasting change on American policies. For example, Obama's picks for SC are likely to take a more pro-choice stance than McCain's. I think - hope - that McCain will select justices that tend to be pro-life. If Roe v. Wade is ever overturned (which I think is unlikely), it will be carried out by the Supreme Court.

I have been avoiding reading the comments for the last couple of days because I absolutely HATE politics, and I usually don't talk about them. However, I think most people who have commented feel like neither candidate is is totally desirable. It is just so sad that this is what it has come to, choosing between two evils. Anonymous hit the nail right on the head---the majority is lacking personal responsibility/accountability. Our forefathers would be quite disturbed about the way things have gone and how we have chosen to interpret their Constitution. I have decided that I am going to be hopeful. I am going to not let the impending civil war get me down. I am going to be proactive where I can be,adapt where I have to, and watch God's plan unfold before my eyes.

Ha! Kate, I feel the same way.

I did this post, and now I don't feel like going back and reading the comments. But when I have, I seem to agree with at least a portion of what everyone is saying. I'm so undecided. Being a Christian doesn't mean you have to vote GOP, and McCain still kills babies...just with bombs and in the middle east, while Obama, well, is Obama.

I know I really like Palin, but McCain DOES look like a child molester. And every time I've seen him in debates, he endlessly attacks Obama with his lackluster speeches. I can't justify the war anymore.

And I really do question if we DO make a difference by voting.
I don't necessarily feel that we do.

I DO feel that the rich should be taxed. I'm sorry, but if you are making 250 a year, you aren't hurting and shouldn't be whining about it. We should be giving to the poor...

Oh goodness there are so many issues here to discuss, I think my next post will be moving on to pumpkin carving. I've left it up to see how much feedback I get, but we all seem to be running in circles.

I feel as Americans, we're all just chasing our own tails. I'm moving to Germany. At least the design there is good.

GROSS.

This article is from Huntley Brown - he is a fabulous concert
pianist, man of God and is a black man. I appreciate so much his
reasoning for not voting for Obama. I would like to see this article
published or spread out via Email to as many as possible. It's good
stuff!

Why I Can't Vote For Obama
By Huntley Brown

Dear Friends,

A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I
sent out an email with a few points. With the election jus t around the
corner I decided to complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list
have seen some of this before but it's worth repeating...

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer
support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need
to explain why I will not be voting for him.

Many of my friends process their identity through their
blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a
Christ follower) means He leads I follow. I can't dictate the terms He
does because He is the leader.

I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian
because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should
anyone from the other ethn ic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years
from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I
knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

In an election there are many issues to consider but when a
society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research,
human cloning to name a few, wrong economic concerns will soon not
matter.

We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, don't judge
someone by the color of their skin but by t he content of their character.
I don't know Obama so all I can go on is his voting record. His voting
record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate
in 2007.

< http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/> NATIONAL JOURNAL:
Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)

To beat Ted Kennedy and Hilar y Clinton as the most liberal
senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years.
I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with..

There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating.
There is a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a
reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a
reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court.
There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill.

There is a reason he voted No on the constitutional ban of same-sex
marriage.

There is a reason he voted No on banning partial birth
abortion.

There is a reason he voted No on confirming Justices Roberts
and Alito. These two judges are conservatives and they have since
overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to
continue.

Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue. The 5
Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:

A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg
with forceps.
(Remember this is a live baby)
B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist d elivers the baby's entire body, except for
the head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The
scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted.
The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead
baby is then removed.

God help him.

There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.

Think about this: You can't give a kid an aspirin without
parental notification but that same kid can have an abortion without
parental notification. This is insane.

There is a reason he went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20
years.

Obama tells us he has good judgment but he sat under Jeremiah
Wright teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I
wonder why now?

Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and disciple
him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20
"Go and make disciples of all nations." This means reproduce yourself.
Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what
you believe etc.
The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?

Would you support a White President who went to a church which
has tenets that said they have a
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
& nbsp; 3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired
skills available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal
Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and
embrace the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value
System. Would you support a President who went to a church like that?

Just change the word from white to black and you have the
tenets of Obama's forme r church. If President Bush was a member of a
church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al
Sharpton would have been marching outside.

This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up
after 20 years and just discovered he went to a racist church. The church
can't be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came
for the whole world.

A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches
value system has to be based on biblical mandate. It does not matter if
it's a white church or a black church it's still wrong. Anyone from
either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.

Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liber al
theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book A Black Theology of
Liberation. Cone once wrote: "Black theology re fuses to accept a God who
is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God
is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had
better kill him.

Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe
this? So what does all this mean for the nation?

&nb sp; In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of
Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in
1 Samuel 1:9 "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them
know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Then God says

1 Samuel 1:18 " When that day comes, you will cry out for
relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in
that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they
said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other
nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our
battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the pe ople said, he repeated it
before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a
king."
Here is what we know for sure.

God is not schizophrenic

He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote
for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot
stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God. Maybe I am the
one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many
things I read in scripture so I doubt it.

For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look
God in the face and say; Father based on your word, I am voting for Obama
even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial
birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court
justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be
making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push
for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for
this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.

I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions.
Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.
Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the
nation,
1. Whose value system should be placed on the nation.

2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for
the nation?

& nbsp; Blessings,
Huntley Brown

I mean this in the nicest of ways, but why the anony comments? It's a bit rude to leave a book on someone's blog and not leave your name. Sheesh.