Exhausted fumes leak out my ears after my brain combusts and burns itself out in frustration. My television set emanates with the numbers of the recent primaries; Hillary Clinton narrowly inching ahead of Barack Obama, and John McCain practically wrapping up the Republican bid. If my options come down to Clinton and McCain next November I don’t think my carpet will withstand the constant pacing necessary in deciding a lesser of two evils.

Obama doesn’t support all my views or ideals, however his entire campaign is revolved around change, and from the way our country is heading currently change is definitely needed. Clinton can’t offer change, she only offers experience, and in my view her experience has only conditioned her into a political machine, faking smiles, pleasing all those she can, while receiving a fat check from the hand feeding her every word. Despite all this, I still agree with many of her points, especially health care and the removal of ourselves from Iraq at a steady pace. I just don’t trust her or her motives especially with the money put forth by lobbyists. Obama on the other hand doesn’t accept money from federal lobbyists or political action committees and thereby releases himself from any commitment to a particular group or policy other than the American people as a whole.

McCain reminds me of a second coming of President Bush without the humor, which is why it’s so hard to conceive how he’s almost assuredly wrapped up the Republican nomination. He’s prepared to stay the course, needless to say the current track were treading pushes past Iraq and into confrontation with Iran, and follow Bush’s current plan and continue taking civil liberties at the exchange for a protected freedom. As though our freedom is so fragile it needs the big arm of the government to hold it tight and rock it to sleep. This kind of freedom is no longer freedom, but rather a euphemism to make ourselves feel better about giving away the very thing we’ve been trying to push onto the rest of the world for the past half-century. The very thing Americans stand up and fight for, is the very thing we’re losing in our battle on terrorism.

Don’t get me wrong I love America. I know how spoiled I am and I’m grateful for the rights I’m given, including the right to write this paper. For this reason I’m willing to lash out on those ruining my country with unwarranted wiretappings and collections of cell phone records, and a lax definition of torture, and a Whitehouse closed off from the world. Do I think Obama is one to change this? Yes, hopefully, and I’m still not sure if Hillary is, but, I know McCain isn’t.

My point comes down to common sense. It’s common sense everyone should have some health care, it’s common sense illegal aliens should either be deported or given some sort of citizenship, it’s common sense we shouldn’t head into another war in the Middle East without support, it’s common sense we need to emancipate ourselves from a dependence on oil, it’s common sense torture will ruin our reputation, it’s common sense terrorism is a world-wide affair and should be dealt with in unison with other world leaders, it’s common sense to build our infrastructure, and finally it’s common sense to rebuild our economy.

The only candidate I see as possibly bringing these issues to the forefront and even getting a bipartisan compromise on each of these issues in America and worldwide is Barack Obama. McCain and Clinton have their own ideas on each of these issues but they’re one sided and unforgiving. McCain declares himself a “maverick” and Clinton was once thought too liberal for a presidential campaign, what has really changed since then? I don’t believe all my views on these issues should come forth and materialize in America, rather I want something on each of these issues done, some kind of agreement, some kind of compromise. Instead of polarizing ourselves from one another, I believe in uniting and hopefully appeasing each side to a certain degree. Will this happen under Barack Obama? Maybe; maybe not. Am I willing to at least strive for change? Absolutely.