I Voted

Being conservative in Oregon means I don't see things fall my way very often in November. But I'm cool with that. I don't own the state. I don't own the country. If someone gets elected or a measure gets passed that I disagree with, it's because there's more people here that want something else. It's nothing to get mad about.


I voted for John McCain. I voted for him primarily because I agree with him that nuclear energy needs to be a primary source of energy for the country moving forward. All the other stuff was secondary to me. Voting for John McCain in Oregon is sort of like hopping on a train knowing your stop isn't on the line. Obama won, and I'm cool with that. Even John McCain is cool with that. In his concession speech (which was fantastic, and if he'd talked like that throughout the election, he might've had a puncher's chance), he said:

"These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited."

And I agree with that. I ride with Obama now, just like I rode with Bush before that. He's the president. Don't get me wrong, Bush didn't do a very good job of leading this country, but then again, it's kind of hard to lead when there are people doing everything in their power to undermine your every decision. A lot of people in this country thought that way. Our government was set up so that no one person could have too much power. Unfortunately, that makes it extremely difficult to get things accomplished efficiently.

Another election thing that just boggles my mind is this gay marriage fiasco. This country has voted time and time again to deny its gay citizens the same rights that straight ones enjoy. That's the country we live in right now. It may be another 40 or 50 years, but it will change, much the way this country has changed its attitude towards women and people of color. I think that pro gay marriage people are handling this right though. Sure they're angry and upset, but they continue to try and change the system legally and without undermining the leadership of this country. I wish every group of people with a cause could approach things this way.