No More Joe Six Pack

As a writer, I tend to see the world differently than most other people. I become curious, as do all writers, about things that other people fail to notice, or if they do, become disinterested. For example, if while driving I happen to look up and notice a lone duck flying in the sky, I wonder where his mate is. Knowing as I do that ducks pair up for life I can’t help but wonder where this particular ducks’ mate is. Was he felled by a hunter’s bullet? Did he get eaten by an alligator? Or perhaps this duck has not found a mate yet. But why does he fly alone? Where is his flock? And so it goes. I become obsessed over what others fail to see.

Lately, that obsession has been on the presidential campaign. I have always been interested in what’s going on in Washington because I want good, compassionate people up there working for me and my family and friends. If they aren’t good and compassionate, they won’t have the best interest of the country at heart, not really. They will have only their own interest at heart. And that isn’t good for anyone. So I have become a little obsessed over this campaign because I know that there is a vast difference between the two candidates. Sen. Obama has consistently voted in favor of animal bills, he has always taken animal issues seriously and not marginalized our movement by trivializing our issues. He came out against the inherent cruelties in the meat industry. He’s been a good and loyal friend to us as has Sen. Biden. Joe Biden has authored or co-authored and sponsored many an animal bill. His Humane Scorecard is stellar and he will be a powerful ally for us in Washington. McCain, on the other hand, has voted in our favor maybe twice, but beyond that, has never been a friend to the humane movement. He refused to participate in a survey conducted by the Humane Legislative Fund that would help us understand his positions, and he has accepted an invitation to speak at a Sportsman’s Alliance event. This is an extremist organization that is nothing short of a terrorist organization that targets animals. And Palin is an avid hunter. She participates in aerial hunting of wolves, has shot and killed moose and is in favor of de-listing the polar bear from the endangered species list. She is not a good and compassionate person. She has consistently voted against vulnerable populations including women, animals and the poor.

So I have become a little obsessive about this whole presidential campaign. I hope that America sees beyond race and allows Sen. Obama to be our next president. I think he and Joe Biden will do a great job. Palin and McCain, with their “down home average American Joe Six Pack” shtick is getting old. We need a president that is more presidential. They said that W was the kind of guy one wanted to have a beer with. He’s the worst president in American history! No more! Let’s have someone BETTER than Joe Six pack in the White House. We deserve better. We have been through enough in the past eight years. We deserve Sen. Obama.