John Hattaway

Well, as I have, as yet, not been undecided in this election, and am on record as supporting Obama and on record as believing we needed a different set of candidates to choose from, I have now voted and I voted my mind. Put me down for Obama. Yup. That’s right. I punched my ticket for Obama. I am happy.

And since Sunday was our first day back at church since before codename: CAMPER was born, we got to sit through fast and testimony meeting. Essentially a meeting where people come having fasted for about twenty-four hours (with a purpose) and who are encouraged to bear their testimonies for the congregation. What caught my attention was the number of people in prayers and in comments repeated that before we voted we should pray seriously about our decision and then cast our ballot. This seems interesting to me, especially as the LDS church is very vocal about voting your mind and voting your mind means seeking out who the candidates are, what they stand for, how that matches your personal political beliefs and desires, and then voting based off of the best information to you. The reason I bring this up is not that anyone I heard said, “Pray and then vote for McCain,” but more that I think people were stating, “If you are going to vote that God is going to tell you who to vote for.” And by extension, because there is an unwarranted belief that the LDS church is Republican, that by praying about your decision you will invariably vote with the LDS block of voters.

Traditionally I have voted for very conservative candidates. In 1992 I voted Perot. In 1996 I voted for Dole. In 2000 I voted for Bush and in 2004 I voted for Bush. In both 2000 and 2004 I wanted a different candidate and in both cases was so dissatisfied with the Democrat running for president that I felt my choices were so limited as to making me either vote for Bush or not vote at all. In the 2000 election, Ralph Nader was on the ballot, but he’s never impressed me enough to believe he would be a good executive, even though he offers interesting arguments; and in 2004 Nader was not on the ballot in New Hampshire and I couldn’t imagine a world where John Kerry was the President of the United States. I have personal reasons for that. As a result, G.W. got my vote only because I believe in participating in the electoral process.

Regardless of my history of voting, I did decide based off of a variety of reasons, to vote for Obama. I stand by that vote. I think Obama is the better candidate. I agree with everyone who says he does not stand for some of the same things that I stand for, and I agree that the areas he differs from me are significant enough to warrant serious consideration. Regardless, and since it has already been done, I voted Obama and by the end of the night I believe that the networks will declare him the victor and that he will be the next president of the United States.

So, if you haven’t voted yet, and you are registered, get out and vote. Vote your conscience. Vote for the person you think will do the best job. But vote.

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