Time For Change

I'm excited about the election results yesterday. It was especially encouraging to see people excited, engaged, voting, and generally involved and interested. I think that this country at times becomes apathetic and somewhat lazy. I personally don't think that many of the current policies could get any worse. I voted early because I like smaller lines and to make sure I get it done when it might be a little more conveniet for me.

I consider myself an independent moderate. Sometimes I agree with one party and other times, with the other. In fact, in 2004, I voted for Bush and in 2008 voted for Obama. I didn't vote in 2000 because I was in Guatemala and didn't get an absentee ballot. I know my vote didn't mean as much in Texas since all the electoral votes went to McCain, but I also had to vote for other federal, state, and local leaders and local issues.

The responsibility with being in the middle is that I have to research the policies and plans for each candidate. I watch the debates (although the normally play it safe and don't really put themselves on the line in them), ignore all the false junk that floats around, and try to pay attention. For me, some stances are important for the Executive branch, some for the Legislative branch, and some for the Judicial branch (voted local judges, etc.). Some stances are not as important for President because of what they do, although some make some issues more important to them.

I am happy with the results because we need a change. I'm not saying Obama will come to the rescue and fix everything. But, because of him, people are interested, engaged, and have come together to commit to do something. Sometimes, momentum is just as important as what is actually done. I also think it's healthy to balance power between the parties over time. Each party is stronger is different areas - domestic, foreign, energy, health care, housing, etc. Just as important is the staff they put together to tackle the many issues.

For me, one of the biggest areas of importance is energy, energy infrastructure, and the environment. I find these areas important on a personal level, but they will also generally help me in my career. As far as government regulation, I generally agree that the market will govern itself and I am a Capitalist for the most part, but what we have seen lately is that there are many greedy people that use Capitalism to make as much money as they can before it crashes and then pick up the pieces later. I'm opposed to Socialism, such as full governmental regulation of banks, but I think we have to meet somewhere in the middle since, unfortunately, not all people are honest and play by the rules.

What it came down to is that I agreed with more of Obama's policies and McCain's. I didn't feel either was 100% right. I say, let's give at least 4 years to someone coming from a different direction and see how things go. At least we'll try something different. Maybe Obama will bring similar excitement of JFK to our generation or maybe not, but I'm excited that so many people voted, voiced their concern, and that the election is over so we can move forward, unite, and make this country great for us and the world.