Kerry For President

Well it is officially under 3 weeks until Election Day, and like a 6 year old kid waiting for Christmas Morning to arrive I am giddy as I await my first vote in a presidential election. While these may seem crazy or just dumb to others, this feeling, while one of freedom and the likes, is one not matched through anything else. For once my vote counts. Sure it is only one vote and it will take millions of votes to elect the president, but we all know the consequences of not voting. Last we heard Al Gore lost the state of Florida and the presidency in 2000 by a mere 500 votes. While in this case the specifics of why people didn't vote or weren't allowed to vote is uncertain, but it could have been as simple as 500 individuals being apathetic and not casting their vote. When looking at the landscape of America and realizing that we have a democracy as true as a democracy can be and yet only around 75% of the eligible population is registered to vote and of that maybe 50% will cast their vote on November 2nd its unbelievable. In essence only 40% of the eligible population is voting. It's truly sad.

So as a concerned citizen I have been following the presidential campaigns for over a year while all the Democratic nominees were making their pitch for the nomination all the up until last night's third and final presidential debate. Kerry was not the man I liked. I like Dennis Kucinich and later John Edwards, but realize while Kerry doesn't necessarily have my same ideas for America, neither does George Bush, or for that matter really anybody else. But I do understand that my values and ideas have more in common with John Kerry then his opponent President Bush. I am not afraid to admit as a young and more ignorant sophomore in high school I pledged my support to George Bush. I didn't love him or necessarily understand all he was for, but I thought he was a better choice than Al Gore. Oh how the times have changed.

While I was pretty much decided on my choice to vote for Kerry prior to the debates, it has become more clear that Kerry is in my opinion the better candidate for president. Over the past four years I don't like how the President has handled America. We have gone from a world power that most countries respected and even looked up to, to a world power that everybody questions and turns their backs to. They are not the ones who severed the relationship, but instead we are and therefore must offer our hands to them and not vice versa. The war in Iraq was the wrong war and though the President vowed to bring to justice those responsible for 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still out there. Domestically, the economy is in shambles, jobs are not being created, equal rights apparently aren't for all, and the educational system sucks. Bush says he has a plan, and he does, four more years of the same policies that have driven his first four years. Kerry offers something different for America and I think that's exactly what we need. I know that when I have something that is broke, I fix it. America is broke. It needs to be fixed and that comes with a change of those in power. On November 2nd I will cast my ballot in favor of John Kerry and John Edwards for President and Vice President of the greatest country in the world. I hope you do the same.

For my Kentucky readers and voters please also vote NO for an amendment that would ban homosexual couples from marriage. I don't know about you, but last time I checked out my Bill of Rights, equal protection under the law is for everybody, not just people the same as you.