My Reminder to Vote

Vote. And vote for Obama.

You know what I'm sick of? People who say it doesn't matter who you vote for. It does matter. I'll concede there's some small advantage to having people vote at all; it could make them more likely to participate in other ways, be more engaged, or at least increase civic awareness.

But if I encourage people to vote no matter who they vote for, isn't it kind of a wash? Vote for Obama. If you're going to vote for McCain, I encourage you to stay home. Stay home...that's such a contrary and unusual statement this time of year, it's practically taboo! And why? One fewer vote for the guy I don't think should win is as good as one extra vote for the guy I think should. Getting someone to switch their vote is a swing of two votes. So if you don't know for whom to vote, I'm not going to tell you it doesn't matter, or even to vote regardless. And I don't care if that seems "undemocratic" (how un-American of me to support a candidate, participate in the process, try to convince people based on issues, encourage others to do likewise in a manner I consider constructive and beneficial, and discourage them from taking actions I would consider detrimental to the country! How horrible!).

So screw this non-partisan support for democracy in which we encourage everyone with no opinion, no information, nothing to add, to go in and cast a completely arbitrary ballot adding randomness to the process. It does matter how you cast your ballot; the future of the world is at stake (we are, after all, choosing its most powerful person).

In that spirit, I'd like to reiterate this blog's endorsement for Barack Obama, who has a superior healthcare plan (McCain's is terrible), a better ability to represent us to the rest of the world (the President's primary responsibility), a better Vice President (as well as a lower chance of needing one), more economic sense (by McCain's own hastily retracted admission), a better philosophy regarding Iraq (spend the money here), a better philosophy regarding every other country (talking, collaboration, all that sissy stuff which saves lives, costs less money, and results in net increases in prosperity), a better energy policy (McCain has a similar stated policy, though in 26 years in Congress, he has voted in accordance with in only a tiny fraction of the time), a better economic plan (McCain's stops at "stay the course with more tax cuts slanted towards rich people"), better advisors (more policy experts, fewer political disciples of the likes of Rove), and a far superior ability to get people to work together, along with a knack for making carefully considered and thoughtful decisions. The world's a complicated place, and it's getting more so. We need a leader looking to the future, not the past. We need someone who's willing to keep an open mind, to have all kinds of discussions with legislators, world leaders, and experts. We need Barack Obama to win this election.

So please, remember to vote, and to vote for Obama.