My election thoughts

Alright, here goes my opinions on the elections. I stayed up late into the night only to find that no winner had been declared. Even upon rising in the morning, some stations did not have a projected winner. Things looked bleek for Kerry and the democrats and quite promising for Bush and the republicans. I was pleased to see that we will not have any controversy this time around and that a canidate finally got >50% of the vote (barely). Here's my voting and some reasoning (like it or not):

President - Kerry. This was not much of a contest for me. I think Bush has not been a good president, and I agree with very little that he says/does. I believe his economic plans (deficit spending and tax cuts) are driving the nation down, his foreign policy is nearly non-existent, and the justification for (what weapons?) and relentless defending of the war in Iraq is ridiculous. On the "moral" front, I still don't agree with much. While I will never actively encourage abortion or the gay lifestyle (might post more later about the marriage issue), I feel that people should have the right to both and not be restricted or persecuted for them (PS. I am a Christian and love my faith). As a health-care professional (to-be), Stem cell research is a fascinating field that should be further studied. Questions or comments (NOT attacks on my views) are welcome.

Governor - Kernan. To be honest, I wasn't going to be overly displeased no matter who won. My rationale for Kernan was based on a little bit of faith in the guy. He really has not been given a chance to lead the state. He took over in a bad situation and pretty much was riding out the term. I honestly feel he was going to overhaul government and initiate his own policies. Daniels, I felt, was out of touch with Indiana. He is a millionaire who has been living and working in DC (for Bush I might add). I believe that Daniels will also be overhauling state government and this is a good thing. Sadly, he probably will push to the forefront issues such as anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage. Again, I am not currently disappointed with this turn out.

Senator - Bayh. I really like Evan Bayh. He hasn't done anything to make me want him voted out of office, and if the cards fall right, he stands a shot at presidency in 2008. In addition, Marvin Scott (a professor at my school) really brought nothing to the table. Scott has also lost (twice, I believe) to Julia Carson in Congressional races...and Carson is an idiot. [Personal thought, Indiana may very well have the best Senator duo in the nation...Lugar and Bayh(one R and one D)...one heck of a presidential ticket?]

Representative - Abstained. I knew nothing about Hostettler or Jennings. No commercials aired for these guys in Indianapolis, and I spent little time at home to read up on them. So, I did not feel like voting for them.

Local - voted based on name. Let's be honest, these elections hardly matter. Clerk's office, coroner, who cares...so I voted based on the coolness or uniqueness of names. Maybe that's wrong, but hey, it's a free country.

There you have it. My thoughts and reasons for votes. I may sound like a die-hard Democrat, but it's not true. I vote for whoever I feel is best. There are some republicans that I truly like (McCain, Lugar, Colin Powell...to name a few). To say the least, I lean to the liberal side of moderate.

Final thoughts: Could be a long 4 years & the Electoral College sucks.