I believe that every American should be involved in the election process. I know, I know. What's the point with the electoral college? The point is to care about the affairs of your nation and take a stand on government issues. Now that you know how I feel about the upcoming election, I will tell you how I feel about a couple of the candidates.
Michele Bachmann of Michigan is married to Marcus Bachmann, who is a clinical psychologist. Together, they have five children, and the couple owns Bachmann & Associates, which is a Christian counseling clinic. Michele holds a law degree from William & Mary and has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2006. I like her Christian values but I think she's one of those God-fearing people who wants to make everyone else be Christian. I'm a Christian and of course, all Christians want everyone else to be a Christian, but I'm completely against forcing any belief on anyone. Plus, she recently switched from a Lutheran church to a more Evangelical one, which shows me that she isn't even completely sure about her own identity. 
Herman Cain of Georgia is married to Gloria Cain, and together they have two children. Cain has never held political office but has held many higher up positions in very prominent companies such as business anaylst for Coca-Cola, vice president of Pillsbury, president and CEO of Godfather's Pizza and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. He has been praised for his successful tenures at each of these companies, but I don't know how I feel about someone who changes jobs more than I change my nail color. He holds a position as an assistant minister at a Baptist Church, which he has attended since he was 10 years old. I appreciate his religious roots, and most especially I appreciate the article he wrote defending Mitt Romney's being a Mormon. I think it shows great character and a sense of equality--an attribute that this country seems to be lacking.
Newt Gingrich is a republican from Georgia with a vast history as a politician. To me, he just seems average. But all I really have to say about him is that he's been married three times and cheated on his first two wives. I will not vote for anyone with such an evasive history of disloyalty and deceit. 
Mitt Romney grew up in Michigan, but eventually settled in Massachusetts with his wife, Anne, after attending law/business school at Harvard. Together, the couple have five sons. He comes from a family of politicians and served as Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. He is well-known for "flip-flopping" on issues including abortion and stem cell research, but I don't think these choices should define his candidacy. I think many times politicians vote for something that they believe is right but later find out that it wasn't a good choice, and instead of swallowing their pride and changing their agenda they would rather bare and grin it, even in a flailing economy. 
Rick Perry is a governor from Texas who served in the Air Force. Sound familiar? He is married to a nurse and together they have two children. He is the sterotypical republican who opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, supports the second ammendment and really REALLY likes the death penalty. In fact, half of all lethal injections that have taken place in Texas since its reinstituion in 1982 have happened under Perry's governance. That's 234 death sentences in 11.5 years. Seems a little morbid to me. But of course he tries to spin it as a hardcore politician who doesn't put up with heinous crimes. My question for him: As a hardcore Methodist do you not believe in forgiveness?
Barack Obama--not much to be said. He was elected because this country needed "change." But not much has changed under his direction unless you want to count the fact that the economy is definitely getting worse. No, I do not blame President Obama for the mess this country is in, but I don't hink he is helping either. I think he probably had good intentions to begin with, but was eventually overwhelmed with the idea of becoming the United States' first black president. In fact, everyone become overwhelmed with the idea and now look at where it has brought us. Nowhere!
If you're struggling like I am to decide on a candidate I hope this blog helps. I haven't quite made up my mind on who I will be voting for, but I do know that once I do I would like to get heavily involved in the election process. After all, I want to be a part of history in the making :)
