What Voters Choose to Ignore.

     This current presidential election cycle, may seem unbearably long, but regardless of its seeming interminable length, make no mistake, it is of the utmost consequence. No candidate is perfect, and most voters aren’t in the camp of extreme political Kool Ade drinkers whose candidate can do no wrong. For most of us, choosing a candidate to vote for will come down, at least in part, to what we are prepared to ignore about our candidate in order to vote for him or her.

     Now, I’m a libertarian (“l” not “L”), but a practical one; I will vote for the lesser of evils if I have to—he or she who advocates for smaller government. Although I was not initially a John McCain supporter, I could never attach the label of “evil” to such a man—not even to his proposed policies. I’m sorry I can’t say the same regarding Barak Obama, who, while I don’t feel he is evil, I do believe Socialism is indeed evil and I believe this philosophy is at the heart of Senator Obama’s proposed policies.

     This being the case, I can’t pretend I even considered supporting Barak Obama. His tax plan alone was enough to dissuade me. Before I go any further let me tell you my original ticket preference: Mitt Romney for President and Condoleeza Rice for VP, although I would also have enthusiastically supported the opposite variation. I also could have supported Rudy Gulliani, and although he showed no interest, Colin Powell would have made a good president or VP candidate.

     Now that you know where I’m coming from, let me show you where I’m going. For me to support Senator McCain I have to ignore some of his views on immigration, so-called campaign-finance reform, and a sometimes terse to ill-tempered manner. I can ignore that stuff standing on my head. Hell,  it seems Bill Clinton had quite a temper, but he was also one of the most personable Presidents we’ve had. (In more ways than one, especially dependent on one’s gender.)

      However, at the risk of appearing to be piling on, Barak Obama’s supporters have to choose to ignore a negative cornucopia of items. First they have to choose to ignore a wafer-thin résumé, vague policy positions, and a wife whose view of America is suspect. And then, at America’s peril, they also have to choose to ignore his long-time associations with Tony Rezko, Bill Ayers, and Rev. Wright.

     It would seem McCain’s negatives can be ignored without violating any personal ethics regarding our responsibility to America and each other. However, can any voter really afford to ignore Obama’s business, political, and personal associations with a crook, a creep, and a crackpot? Can America afford the risk? The American presidency is far too important for any voter to give any candidate that much of the benefit of the doubt.