Here we are, days before Election Day…..what appears to be one of the tighter races we’ve seen in years.

Go back in history and there have been similar tight races, including one where congress selected the winner.  There’s even a remote possibility this time around that, if there’s a tie and it goes into the house, you could have a Romney/Biden result.

That being said, who are you voting for?  Notice the last word, “for”.  As I watch the negative ads fill up the remaining hours before election day, it makes me realize that in this focus-group, over-researched marketing world that negative apparently sells.  The result—you’ll vote AGAINST someone, rather than for your candidate.  Each party is masterful at playing on what surveys say you fear.  Sadly, it works.

I can proudly say I voted for R’s as well as D’s.  I vote in favor of propositions that R’s would oppose and against measures D supported. I was all over the board, but I voted the way I felt was right, as we should all do.  That was the idea.  If you go into a booth or mail in a ballot that you placed marks strictly based on whether there’s a D or R next to the name, congratulations!  You’ve officially given up your right to decide and have handed it off to a party think tank back east.

With the abundance of half-truths that are slipped into the ads to test the limits of spin, it’s more important than ever for us to make the extra effort, actually wade through that voter’s pamphlet and think, “Who would do the better job?”

I vote my preferences, my theories, my hopes.  Sometimes, I have to compromise and choose the lesser of two evils. But it’s how I feel.  Then, I sit back and watch on election night to see what we’re going to end up with.  No matter what the results, it’s the government we deserve, because we–as a group–put them there.

Remember, we’re all in this together.

Tim Hunter