This Democrat is Splitting His Ticket

This has been an incredibly tough decision for me. Unlike the partisans, I think both President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney are genuinely good men. Neither of them is particularly inspirational to me.

Mitt Romney was a conservative when he had to be, and now he's a centrist. But I seem to recall that Obama was a centrist, or perhaps a realist, when he ran for his first term. Once elected, he took a hard left.

I've been disappointed by his obsession with an unpopular medical insurance act, while dithering about our floundering economy. Although his foreign policy approach is better than I expected, his approach to Israel leaves me concerned. What really bothers me is not his so-called apology tour, but his failure to recognize that a Putinized Russia is becoming a very real threat to our national security. This is evidenced by its recent failed attempt to supply Syria with arms. What bothers me most of all about Obama is that the man who promised to be accountable and transparent was not, at least not with Obamacare.
If you don't like Romney's position on an issue, do some research and I'm sure that, sooner or later, you'll find that he had a completely different one a few weeks ago. His alienation of the English, during the Olympics, was absurd.

But unlike Obama, Romney does have quite a bit of Executive experience. He has turned companies around. It appears that his waffling might be an indication that he is, like FDR, a realist. He's willing to do what works, regardless whether it is a Republican or Democratic idea. But does he understand what it's like to be out of work? Will his solutions impose more hardships on an already overburdened middle and lower middle class?

I'm impressed by the way President Obama reacted to Hurricane Sandy. But I'd like to think that most presidents would react the same way.

We've tried the "hope" and "change" for four years. The only change I've seen is in the wrong direction. Instead of hope, I see despair as millions of people have stopped looking for work.

They may both be good man, but neither is an exceptionally appealing candidate. I probably would have voted for Obama. After all, I am a Democrat. But what tilted me towards Romney are two things.

First, the notion of revenge against those who dared oppose Obama. I'm not speaking about Obama's "voting is the best revenge remark" but am instead bothered by what his chief political adviser, Valerie Jarrett, reportedly said to two Obama campaign staffers: "After we win this election, it’s our turn. Payback time. Everyone not with us is against us and they better be ready because we don’t forget. The ones who helped us will be rewarded, the ones who opposed us will get what they deserve. There is going to be hell to pay." Obama's very own Karl Rove, Jarrett has also been tied to foreign policy decisions, where political repercussions should take a back seat.

The second thing that swayed me is the venom from so-called liberals, hypocritically attacking Romney over his religious beliefs, about which they know nothing. I thought those days were over.

So although I think Obama is going to win, I'll be voting for Romney.