Why I Voted For Presidents

In my life, I’ve voted for Nixon, McGovern, Carter, Mondale, Clinton, Dukakis, Gore, Kerry, and Obama. I started out as a Republican and I’m not sure why. When I was very young, I had an “I Like Ike” button. I remember the Nixon-Kennedy race being very close. Kennedy was much more likable than Nixon. Kennedy's "Ask not..." inaugural speech hooked me, but I was still a Republican. They were both centrists, and the cold war was raging.

1964- I liked Barry Goldwater. I was a fan of Brave New World, 1984 and The Animal Farm. I think my youthful core values of independence, self-reliance, and unfettered liberty, won out over compassion for my fellow man, civil rights, and the greater good of society.

1968- I voted for Nixon- that was my first time voting. Hubert Humphrey lost on the war. Nixon said he’d get us out of Vietnam. He lied. He gave us the current health care system. Thanks Dick. Robert Kennedy would’ve gotten my vote. Hubert was a Roosevelt Democrat- very liberal. Now, I wish he had won.

1972- My turning point was George Mc Govern. I was sure Nixon was a crook. His popularity was meteoric. He took 49 states in his re-election in 72. That was after the Watergate break-in, and all the buzz around it. I always felt good about voting for McGovern. I was in a very small minority. Republicans smeared McGovern’s VP candidate, Senator Eagleton, for being treated for depression years before. This was the first of many Republican smears. McGovern was also a Roosevelt Democrat. If we had Humphrey and McGovern as Presidents, we might have gotten out of Vietnam sooner. We might have single payer health care today too.

1976- I loved Carter. I voted for him twice. He seemed like a modern day Stonewall Jackson- a man of the people. He is a good man, but he didn’t have a clue about how Washington operates. They chewed him up and spit him out. He was likable, but he couldn’t talk. He was the first President to push energy conservation. When we had the Arab oil embargo in 73, he lowered the speed limit to 50 mph nationwide! Truckers protested, so he increased it to 55. It stayed there for a long time. He will go down in history as the only President to address the nation on TV dressed like Mr. Rogers. He was the first President to promote a green environment. He negotiated a lasting peace tready between Israel and Egypt. History will show him to be a better president than he gets credit for.

1984- Reagan couldn’t have had an easier opponent than Fritz Mondale. I voted for Ferraro. The idea of a woman becoming vice-president was exciting. Someday we might even elect a woman president. Reagan was the great communicator. He could talk the talk better than any of them, and he was very likable- the most popular President we ever had. He initiated massive deregulation- getting “big government off the backs of the people”. In 1987, the stock market crashed- caused by the Savings and Loan failures; because of deregulation, sound familiar? He was also a union buster. Amazingly, the people he hurt liked him all the same.

1988- The Bush Sr.-Dukakis election was a no-brainer. Bush won 40 states on the coat tails of Reagan’s goodwill. I voted against Bush. Neither could talk. Dukakis was an inspiring person, but he couldn’t connect with the people- too intellectual. The Republicans smeared him with the Willie Horton parole scandal. He gave a poor response to a question about Willie in a debate- it sealed his fate.

1992- Clinton got my vote twice- another nice guy who can talk. He will never be considered a great president, but he was popular. Being impeached will always taint his presidency. It was a quiet time- no war and the dot-com business boomed. He was a business friendly centrist- he gave us NAFTA. He failed to get health reform. He did give us new national parks.

2000- Gore lost on Clinton’s coat tails- even though he tried to shake them off. He was a genuinely nice guy, but he was boring. I voted for ideology this time. Bush was a nice guy too, but he couldn’t talk at all. He gave NASCAR fans and Wall St hope that anybody can become president, even if you can’t talk, as long as you've been saved, you're rich, and your dad was a president. George kept the deregulation coming, and started two wars he didn't know how to finish.

2004- I voted for ideology again. Kerry was not a particularly likable guy (strike one), and he couldn’t connect with the people (strike two). He suffered from being labeled a blue blood (strike three). George is a blue blood too. But unlike George, he didn’t have a dad who was a president. George convinced the soccer moms that Republicans would keep them safer than Democrats. The Republican “swift boat” smear hurt Kerry. Bush tried to kill Social Security, so people could invest in Wall St, and make a lot of money. That was a close one...You know the rest...

2008- Obama is inspirational. He’s the first candidate I ever volunteered for. I like what he stands for. He can talk, and he’s a nice guy too, but he's in for a rough ride. We still have the same two wars. The economy is in the tank, it's only been nine months, the honeymoon, if there ever was one, is over.