99%-Decided Voter...

Those of you who read here frequently know that I am VERY political--not in a party-loyalist sense (I'm an Independent) but in a concerned citizen, read-everything-I-can-get-my-hands-on sense. However, I have been undecided in this Presidential election. Four years ago, Al Gore scared the heck out of me and I felt that Bush would be a more moderate conservative and, therefore, more representative of my views. So I cast my vote for Bush, even though hubby was running for office on the same ballot as a Dem. (I voted for Hubby, too.) Unfortunately, I have had a raging guilt complex about that vote for the last two years (the one for Bush, of course, not for Hubby!)

This year, I was torn, though, because I didn't feel a bit better about Kerry. Having lived and worked on DC's Capitol Hill, I know Kerry to be every bit as liberal as the conservatives say he is. I would NEVER vote for Kerry under ordinary circumstances--for ANYTHING, much less President. However, these aren't ordinary circumstances. And what scares me more than Kerry's liberalism is:

1) Having a President who doesn't seem to have the intellect to make potentially earth-altering decisions, which means that...

2) He relies on a group of VERY power-hungry wannabes who are steering him (and, therefore, us) into courses of action concocted for purely political (party) reasons that shore up his base of right-wing support, but make the rest of us look as looney as they are. Not to mention that those decisions put all of us, as a nation, into precarious security and diplomatic positions.

3) And, finally, he has a Congress that at the very least will give him unfettered support on his most politically-motivated stances, but worse will force him even further to the right (why we keep sending those guys to DC is beyond my own logical comprehension...)

When doctors are treating the sick, their creed is "First, do no harm". Our country is sick. I don't think that either Kerry or Bush is the "right" man to cure our ills and to lead us over the next four years (don't EVEN get me started on the OTHER guy...). However, a Republican Congress is NEVER going to give Kerry a mandate to do anything scary. And Kerry will keep the Congress in political check. With Kerry in the White House we may not get much accomplished with Congress fighting him every step of the way, but THAT would be preferable to having a wild-card, lame duck President who has to answer to nobody but the pitbulls surrounding him, calling the shots. Unlike Bush and his cronies (Karl Rove is SOOOO scary!), Kerry will be forced to "do no harm".

Therefore, barring some unforeseen circumstance, I am voting for the lesser of two evils. This undecided voter is (with some hesitation, but knowing I'm doing the right thing providing some political balance) voting for Kerry.