Presidential Debates And Decisions
Although I wasn't planning to watch the second U.S. presidential debate tonight, I'm glad that I did. As a pre-note, I have to give credit to any candidate who can remember so much information, communicate it to a wide range of viewers with persuasion, and all within a time limit of sometimes just one minute. It really is amazing.
After-debate commentators said that this debate was not a game changer, that both senators were not willing to take risks or state anything new. Because of this, both parties were graced with more reserve, and (thankfully) there was much more addressing of the issues than personal attacking this time around.
But this debate was actually a game changer for me personally. The principal reason is that even though we expect empty promises with politicians, McCain made too many of them, and appeared defeated in his 30 years of hard labor attempting unsuccessfully to make positive changes for our country. Even though McCain has to work against his very unpopular political party at this time in history, he was not able to convince me that he would be able to run things differently than the current administration. I am not sure that Senator Obama can accomplish much either, but I'm thinking we at least have a chance with him. Senator Obama also made many promises, but he fluidly explained each current issue, as well as the how and the why he intends to deal with them.
It would be nice to know that our government is always working in the best interest of America and the rest of the world, uninfluenced by popularity or monetary gain. I believe that our founding fathers made this possible for our country. Yet both candidates openly admit that lobbyists and special interest groups have far too much power when laws are passed or vetoed. So, it is extremely difficult for any president to accomplish the things that are promised during the campaigns.
Furthermore, the current issues (the economy, the war on terrorism, alternative energy, healthcare, etc.) have importance for our country, but are perhaps not so vital to determine the best candidate for presidency. Current issues do, however, provide a platform for the candidate to express his way of thinking, his policies and his passions, and this is precisely why I am now hoping that Senator Obama wins this election.
I'd like to make a statement directed toward my fellow Christian believers regarding political parties. Somehow the belief that to be a Christian means voting Republican has run rampant throughout recent American history, and for understandable reasons. But I think and hope that we are beginning to understand that a political candidate's professed religious beliefs are sometimes used for campaigning purposes only, and they rarely affect the candidate's decisions when in office anyway.
And this should be the case. It is to our benefit to have a separation of church and state in order to maintain religious freedom for American citizens. God wisely does not use force or regulation to bestow faith, nor does he invade the morals of men. He does however, allow the opportunity of natural consequences for right and wrong behavior and also punishes actions which harm the innocent, which, if our government functioned according to its intentions, would do the same.
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