Tales of the Talking Tiger

In just over a week, Americans will vote for their next President. I must admit, I’ve been a bit carried away with Obama fever. George W Bush has been such a disappointment and I’ve been excited by Obama’s youth, energy and rhetoric. Many people, including Australians have an opinion on who should be the President. Yet how many of us know anything about the policies of McCain and Obama? How much of our opinion is based on what they believe in and how they will govern and the policies they will implement, and how much is based on how well they can debate and give a speech?

I was challenged when reading this post by Andy Alcorn today that the election is significant and should be approached very differently to how we approach other ‘elections’ in our society:

“On Tuesday November 4, don’t think you are merely expressing a preference between two men, choosing who you like, who you’d enjoy hanging out with. You’re not voting for a friend, a dinner companion, a dance partner, someone to sit next to at a ball game or to be seen with at a party. Don’t allow yourself to vote as if this were American Idol.”

I was forming my opinion on the next President based on how well he can sing - I’d left out all other considerations.

At the last election I remember speaking with a colleague about who we were going to vote for. She was determined to vote for John Howard - for no other reason than that he had managed the economy well, and she didn’t want to lose her job. This was the primary consideration for her when electing a prime minister. This is important - no doubt about it. But there are often bigger issues at stake.

For example, Alcorn argues that whilst there are differences in the policies of Obama and McCain, even on issues that are extremely important for the future of the nation, Barack Obama’s stance on abortion (”child killing”) disqualifies him from the Presidency:

“All I can say is the differences between the candidates on those issues don’t stack up, even cumulatively, to the legalized killing of human beings. It’s a matter of relative importance, not just a number of issues. A man who is a good husband in most respects, but who beats his wife, is not a good husband. That issue outweighs all the others.”

Some issues outrank others.

Read the rest of Alcorn’s article here - I’m not voting for a man - I’m voting for generations of children and their right to live.

PS - Google has launched InQuotes - a website where you can compare, side-by-side what Obama and McCain say on a range of issues. Could be worth checking out too.

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