After an hour of standing in line I cast my vote today. I didn’t comment before the elections, but most people have made up their minds by now, so here goes.

Last presidential election I voted based on one or two specific issues and I got George Bush. It seemed right at the time. It certainly takes a lot of the work off of me. I don’t like the results, though. I don’t feel George Bush upheld the moral beliefs I have.

I have a friend who is passionate about abortion and that’s why he’s voting for John McCain. He’s a Christian and it’s his sacred belief that abortion is always wrong. He goes on and on about it. For the record, the Bible doesn’t have anything to say about abortion or the “sanctity of human life.” Just read it and it won’t take too long before God orders Israel to kill entire nations and destroy all their stuff. That’s a topic for another post, though.

My religious beliefs are central to who I am, but I don’t think God wants me to care about just a few pet Christian issues. That kind of black and white thinking is one of the things Jesus challenged people over. Look at when he broke the law by working on the sabbath to show people things aren’t always cut and dried.

So this time I decided to consider everything each candidate had to say and compare their platforms. I planned on reading the policies on the issues from both McCain and Obama’s web sites, but I didn’t have the time to read every word. I did read a lot of the top issues for me and compare point by point and build up a tally.

What I found is that I agree with Barack Obama more than I agree with John McCain. Obama’s policies are complete and well thought out. He is intelligent and more willing to speak the hard truth (neither candidate is willing to be completely honest about how screwed this nation is).

I find McCain’s policies to be behind the times and out of touch. He’s still calling for a Summer gas tax holiday as part of his economic plan. Has no one told him the summer is over? He also plans on increasing the value of the dollar so we can buy more. Is there some switch you can flip in Washington that regulates how much the dollar is worth?

I’ve read economists who believe Obama’s economic policy will have more effect per dollar spent than McCain’s. That’s important to me. I really like Obama’s stance on education. His energy policy is much better (hint: if oil and nuclear power were the answer, we wouldn’t have a problem).

I could go on, but the point is I voted for a man and his ideas, not his stance on one issue. You may disagree, but spend your vote however you want.

I’m going to light a cigar, pour me a beer and wait for the results to come in.