One week from today, we should know who the new president of the United States is.  I, for one, can’t wait.  No, it’s not because I’m annoyed at hearing debates and reading about each candidate’s platform.  I am ready for the election to be over with because two things are really bothering me: 1) the lies being cast and the fact the public believes it and 2) the fact that there is genuine anger building against each candidate.  

In the past week, I have had two clients of mine express their anti-Obama opinions with me without being prompted to do so.  On one hand, I appreciate that they consider their relationship with me to be one in which they could share their political views, but I also find it pretty inappropriate and awkward.  I find it awkward because the points they used to explain to me why they didn’t like Obama were completely, flat-out wrong.  They argued that Obama has said that he has wanted to distance himself from the white race, that he’s secretly a terrorist, and that he’s Muslim.  How on Earth am I supposed to respond to that?  I don’t want to offend them by calling them out on their utter B.S., but I do feel they have the right to know the actual truth.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been surrounded by false information regarding this election.  I have family members who forward emails about how horrible Obama is (all of them are proven to be incorrect by doing a simple search on Snopes).  One family member said he would never vote for someone named Hussein.  That absolutely blows my mind because this concept is either a) purely out of racism or b) based on the fact that if a person shares the same name as someone else, you’re like them.  John McCain’s middle name is Sydney which also happens to be the capitol of Australia, a country who has a federal constitutional monarchy as their form of government.  He also shares the same first name as John Wayne Gacy.  I guess this means that, by using the same “Hussein” logic, John McCain doesn’t like our form of government, likes dressing as a clown…and rapes and murders teenage boys for fun.  Well there you go.  I guess our election is down to a terrorist and boy raper.

I am voting for Obama not because I’m registered as a Democrat (I’m a proud Independent) but because I think he is the best for our country, especially at this time.  If this was the same John McCain that ran for president against Dubya in 2000, I would have a really hard time picking a candidate.  It is astounding how much McCain has shifted his views on practically everything since then.   He was eliminated from contention after Bush’s cronies started a smear campaign against him, claiming he fathered an illegitimate black child.  Nothing like a racist lie to help you win an election.  It was then that I knew George W. Bush was evil.  Well, after vowing to never stoop to that level, McCain hired the EXACT SAME PEOPLE who spread lies about him to do the same to Obama.  His campaign has turned into something ugly by talking about Obama’s alleged ties with terrorists, that he’s a marxist, etc.  What has really impressed me is how Obama has taken those hits.  He could easily make commercials talking about McCain’s involvement in the Keating 5 Scandal or pointing out the fact that McCain is friends with G. Gordon Liddy.  But he hasn’t.  Instead, he’s talked about the issues.  I find it funny that, for every attack McCain has had against Obama, each one has come back to haunt him.  And it’s sad that so many people can’t see that.

It might sound ridiculous to say this, but I wish there was a competency test to vote.  On it, you would be asked these questions:

1) Is Obama is Muslim?

2) Whose administration created the earned income tax credit to help “spread the wealth”?

3) Who once said the following: “Here’s what I really believe: That when you reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more.”

4)  Do you really know what Marxism is?  If so, please describe how Obama’s tax plan is Marxist.

5)  True or False: Both candidates have ties to convicted felons.

6) True or False: Obama was sworn in to office with the Koran and refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

If the voter-to-be can’t get at least 3 of the questions correctly, an error message would pop up saying: “I’m sorry, you clearly don’t know what you’re doing.  For the sake of the future of this country, you are too dumb to vote.  Please try again in four years.”  That would be awesome.

I can’t wait for this election to be over with because things are getting out of control.  There is hatred for each side that I haven’t seen before.  The longer the election lasts, the more divisive we become as a nation.  I genuinely worry about the safety of either candidate.  I truly believe that if McCain becomes president, the devisiveness will continue akin to the Bush administration.  The fact that the McCain/Palin ticket has thrown out racist comments, called certain parts of the country “pro-American”, have mocked community organizations, and so on, leads me to believe we could be heading down a dangerous path.  Sadly, if Obama is president, there are people out there who believe the lies about him thanks to the McCain campaign, and I am scared that there are enough wackos who will believe they’d be doing the country a favor by assassinating the guy.  The sooner this thing gets over with, the more likely people will be able to cool down.

There are definitely things I disagree with Obama on, though, so I don’t think he’s perfect by any means.  He is supposed to be addressing the country tonight because he purchased a half hour of TV time.  I don’t agree with it at all even though I am going to watch.  I am trying to be open-minded about it because I could be surprised about the content of his message.  If he’s just reciting his stump speeches he’s been giving across the country, I’ll be disappointed.  Maybe he has an October surprise in store for us.  Maybe he’s using the time to dispell so many of the untrue rumors about him.  Either way, I’m excited for a week from today.