Welcome to tokoni

I'd like to start by saying I'm very jaded when it comes to Illinois politics, especially living in the Chicago-area. It doesn't matter on what side of the fence you are in Illinois. The past Republican governor is in jail. The present Democratic governor may be on his way. Some of his friends are being indicted. The City's Democratic mayor went out one night and dug up the airport along the lake because he felt he could. The list is long. So when Barack Obama went to the Senate, I thought, maybe there is hope. He is by-far one of the most charismatic speakers of the day. He is thoughtful, intelligent, and speaks to the issues. I attended one of his first town-hall meetings after he announced his candidacy. It was televised from Iowa into peoples' homes where we gathered to listen to his ideas. I was shocked at how much I liked him, being that as I have gotten older, I have tended to vote more conservatively. Most recently, I attended a party at my neighbor's where Obama's policy advisor was supposed to speak. He never showed. I'm sure there was a good excuse, but that tarnished Obama's image to a small extent in my mind.

And I always liked John McCain in the pre-Bush era. But now, I just don't know. He has chosen as his running mate, a woman with no international experience, and slightly limited political experience. If he was trying to pull in the Clinton supporters, couldn't he have chosed someone with more international experience? Under Bush, we have found ourselves in a war that we cannot win, our markets have gone to pot (understandably, not totally his fault), and our health care "system" is abysmal. Does McCain really believe that giving people $5000  is going to go towards the purchase of health care insurance?  No...it will probably go to pay that portion of the E.R. bill from last year when they didn't have insurance.

What I do know is that in many ways, my vote may not "count" due to the fact that I live in Illinois. I certainly don't want to teach my children that their vote doesn't count. And so I continue to struggle with my decision, knowing full-well that the only person I will have to answer to is myself.