Politics 101; or How to Choose Who to Vote For

After multiple discussions with a variety of friends, with numerous and sundry opinions on politics, I believe firmly that there are two lessons aspiring voters need to learn in order to utilize their civic responsibilities.

1. Vote for substance, not cosmetics.

This is addressed by every pundit, but that doesn't make it less important. Don't select your candidate based on how they look or even just on how they speak. Looks and speech are important...but looking good and sounding good are not the same as being good. In a race with a vibrant Black candidate, a woman candidate, a 79 year old war hero and a good looking CEO, this message is particularly important. How they look doesn't matter if their stance on policy is no good! Even their personal religious beliefs* shouldn't be enough to sway your vote--Mormon, Christian, Unbeliever--we're not voting on Pastors, we're voting on Presidents**.

*I might make the exception with a Muslim running for President...but that would depend on the history of the Candidate.

**If all things are equal, I'd vote for a Christian. It matters...but policy stance is the first thing we're supposed to evaluate.

2. Politics involve Compromise.

E Pluribus Unum. We go no where, we accomplish nothing, we lose everything, if we cannot work together. With a couple hundred million people in this nation, the likelihood of our finding the one leader that meets everyone's hopes is slim, to say the least. If we begin to demand absolute agreement before we will participate, none of our ideas get represented.

Pundits that engage in these primaries and denounce their opponents and vow to abstain rather than vote for their rivals if they carry the day do not encourage growth in their respective parties--they ensure the failure of their party and their argument. Sowing division reaps more division.

At the end of the day, we need to be able to come together and argue in favor of the big picture. As a Republican, there are some huge issues on the table. McCain or Huckabee are not my preference, but they are still wildly better to my political taste than the alternative Democrat President. I just hope we can figure out how to mend the fences after the fireworks of a good primary season.