voting

This is excerpted from an email i sent to my sister, but i want to share it with all of you (five or so) readers. This are my personal beliefs and are not associated with any organization i work for. As you'll see if you make it to the bottom, while i don't have all the answers, i'm willing to work to find answers to your questions if you have any.

"You are the first in a string of emails i plan to send out today because i realized that i don't really know a lot about your political tendencies. I know a fair number of people who have done canvasing and phone banking and that kind of stuff and maybe this is my way of feeling like i am actually doing something, something a little more inside of my comfort zone than calling people i don't know. I hope you are registered to vote and on some level i think that is the more important part, that the people i know are actually voting and exercising their rights as American citizens because when you stop and think about it, and ignore all of the complications of a modern political campaign, that is a pretty neat thing that we on some level and influence in our country. I encourage you to vote for sure and perhaps i should have sent something like this out before the voter registration period expired.

Of course, knowing your big sister, you may have guessed that I have a particular slant to my voting request. I support Barack Obama, as i have for almost a year and a half since i starting getting involved in campaigns during my internship. As this election has continued i will acknowledge that there have been times when i haven't agreed with Obama, but he has always seemed like the best choice for me and i think, our country. Again, it shouldn't come as a surprise to you that i haven't like the condition of the government for some time and i am ready for a change. But i think it goes beyond my being pulled in by a desire for "change" or other oneliners (despite how much i like this particular one). I do like Obama's policies and I think he offers a more positive future for the US. I have a soft spot for helping others so i support Obama's tax cuts and extended social programs. I support a women's right to choose what to do with her body and am afraid that a McCain presidency would end those rights through new Supreme court justices that he would most likely be appointing. I think the war in Iraq is wrong, and we are personally connected to the war and think that while Obama has less experience, he has already started to surround himself with those who do have experience such as Joe Biden who will help him make the tough decisions. There is more i could say, things that attack the other side of this campaign. While i often find those things interesting and even entertaining, there not the message i wanted to send.

If you haven't already done so, i encourage you to vote for Barack Obama tomorrow. I am not a policy buff and don't know all of the ins and outs but i would be willing to field your questions and help find answers together if you are undecided or otherwise want to pick my brain."