Blogocentric Formulations

Election Opinion

I think it's going to be an troubling election year. With the country still in the midst of an economic crisis and a whole host of other problems, it seems like one of those years where the mudslinging will probably be a huge component of the campaigning, particularly in the Presidential race. On the one hand, Romney can (and has) accused Obama of failing to deliver on the "change" that got him elected four years ago... but on the other hand, Obama can (and has) pointed out that Romney is one of the big business, corporate fat cat, super-rich 1% that are largely responsible for getting us into this economic crisis in the first place.

Honestly, I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for at the moment. I'm not thrilled with Obama's performance over the past four years, but I'm also not impressed by a lot of Romney's stances on political issues. I know that Obama isn't solely responsible for the continued problems our country is experiencing, and he does have a very difficult job trying to make progress in such a volatile, polarized political environment. And I know that Romney isn't just some corporate drone or personally responsible for destroying the housing and financial markets. But I do worry that after a great, passionate election four years ago where people on both sides were incredibly motivated and mobilized by their candidate of choice, that we're heading back into an era where voting becomes about choosing the lesser of two evils and who people think will be the least disappointing or screw up the least.

My dad is always fond of saying there should be a "none of the above" option on the ballot, and if enough people vote for that, the parties have to throw out both candidates and start over. And while I realize that - in practice - that would be a fundamentally terrible idea and we'd probably never get anyone elected if we did things that way, part of me wishes there were an option like that, or something similar, to at least get people engaged in the process and make their voices heard. Because it's a terrible, terrible thing when people unenthusiastically punch a ballot card for a candidate they don't particularly believe in - or worse - stay away from the voting process altogether.

I fervently hope that something happens between now and November to engage the American people and at least give us something to care about. Because right now, with what I'm hearing from a lot of other people, we're headed for another "Well, I voted for him because at least he's not as bad as the other guy" type of elections.