Do we pick a President based on our own personality traits?
At a small family dinner party tonight, we gathered round the circular oak antique table conversing congenially while we enjoyed an Italian meal. After completing our dinner, we migrated casually to the side porch.
At this point, the conversation turned to politics. The tone and volume of our voices shifted as we exchanged views on the leading candidates for President of the US. I remember saying that any of the three, McCain, Clinton or Obama would be fine with me. My male friend said "Hillary wants to garnish your wages to pay for health insurance." My daughter remarked, "I don't like Michelle Obama's lack of fashion sense." Her husband said "it is too bad that John Edwards is out of the race." My daughter and I agreed that we wanted a woman to win, Hillary but we felt magnetized by Barack's compelling charm. "What about John McCain," I thought; "he's a war hero and I am the widow of a Vietnam veteran."
As I considered all of our diverse political views, I flashed on California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who endorsed John McCain and his wife, Maria Shriver who endorsed Barack Obama. I wonder how many families are divided, politically speaking, by this year's presidential candidates.
As I reflect back on the last two lack luster presidential campaigns, I sense this one is different. Excitement is in the air; people are really fired up about their choices. For the first time in eight years, the top candidates are all extremely intelligent, affable, articulate people. After seven years of listening to a president who mutilates the English language, we're all ready for a breath of fresh air!
So many "firsts" are possible in this election. We could have the first woman or the first black man. How ominous is that? Although intellectually, most of us know that a subjective attitude is unacceptable, how many of us will actually vote strictly on the issues?
Will a black man vote for another black man just because he's black? Will a woman vote for another woman just because she's female? Will a vet vote for another vet just because they are both vets? If we're honest, the answer is yes!
Oh, I know, many of us will vehemently deny any prejudice. We profess to vote for the best qualified man or woman, as the case may be, but in essence don't we just make the issues that we admire in our candidates fit our personality and essentially vote for the candidate that is most like ourselves? I, for one, intend to ponder this question in an attempt to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
