Who I Voted For And Why

Knowing this has zero influence on anyone, I thought I'd share who I voted for, and why.

President - Barack Obama & Joe Biden
Why? Obama was not my first choice for the Democratic nominee; in fact, he was technically my third choice. On the positive side, I think his position on healthcare is far better than that of Senator McCain. In fact, doing nothing would be better than what Senator McCain proposed on healthcare. What's more, Obama has shown himself to be very capable of being cool under pressure and handling criticism very well. The guy has skin that must be six inches thick. In addition, Joe Biden is a Scranton native, so that's always a plus. On the negative side, I think Obama's tax proposals will cost far too much. He's counting on spending the $10 billion a month we blow in Iraq on domestic priorities...when we shouldn't be spending the $10 billion at all. In the end, he was the better of two choices for me.

Oh and a word on Sarah Palin. If Governor Palin could be thrown off her game in an interview with Katie Couric ("What magazines do you read?"), how would she handle herself against the Chinese or Russians? Palin seems like a nice person, but she's clearly not ready for national office. Her choice as a running mate by Senator McCain spoke poorly of his decision making.

On a related note, here's a link to a terrific opinion piece by NY Times columnist Marueen Dowd. Must read stuff... November 2nd MD Piece.

Congress - Lou Barletta
I voted for Republican Lou Barletta over incumbent Paul Kanjorski for one primary reason: Kanjorski seemed arrogant in the face of questions about his funneling earmark money to his family. He seems to typify everything that's wrong with Congress today, including an odd sense of entitlement. Also, assuming Senator Obama wins the Presidency, I think having more moderate Republicans in Congress will be a very good thing. Now I do have issues with Barletta, starting with his seeming inability to understand that it's the Federal Government (not the City of Hazelton) that is responsible for securing our borders. However, I'm willing to give him a chance.

As a side note, while I'm not in Congressman Chris Carney's district, I do hope that he wins. He's proven himself to be very capable, principled and tough.