Who I'm voting for

So I've had more than a few people ask me who I'm voting for in November, and until a few days ago, I was decidedly undecided. I was one of those independents that liked McCain in 1999 and 2000 when he was bucking the party line and giving W a run for his money. I liked him in the primary, when he still had his maverick leanings, but had become concerned as he toed the party line more and more in an effort to court the conservative vote. Obama may be a little too liberal for my liking, but I felt that the country could use to move a little bit to the left and I felt that Biden was a solid VP pickup.

The two weaknesses of the Obama campaign in my mind are 1) it is full of rhetoric and not involved in the details, as Tenn. Gov. Phil Bredesen pointed out, and 2) there is no executive experience on the ticket. Neither Obama or Biden have been governors.

The weakness of the McCain campaign is that it has become too easy for Obama to tie McCain to a third Bush term and that McCain has lost his footing with independents, like me.

However, the pickup of Sarah Palin was a solid and unexpected move that will swing the independent vote. While she is much more conservative than my thinking, she strengthens the McCain ticket by adding 1) executive experience... she has been a mayor and a governor and 2) she revitalizes McCain's maverick image by her willingness to go against her own party and move toward reform.

I had hoped that there would be a governor on a ticket because while senators may have the ability to work rhetoric and tout their foreign policy credentials, they have never led. They have never stood singly accountable for the success/failure of their own actions. I feel that foreign policy is important in this election, but domestic policy is much more so. McCain has shown his ability to gain bipartisan support for legislation, and Palin has executive experience. Obama's speeches may amaze and awe, but they lack in the details. These are the lessons that Clinton learned in office, and a two-senator ticket won't cut it. Our most effective presidents in the last thirty years (agree or don't with what they've done) have been governors at one point. W, Clinton, Papa Bush, and Reagan to name a few. And we need a president that will get things done.

I hope that the Palin pickup will help McCain regain his maverick tendency and revitalize his campaign. I'll vote for McCain in November because I believe that he will be able to get done a majority of what he wants to do. My hopes are that he will have a bipartisan cabinet and work for the wellbeing of the nation. What do you think?