Well, the time has come, we're down to the wire and decisions must be made. Here are the candidates I suggest voting for and a brief reason or two why:
President: John Kerry
If you've been reading my blog, you understand that this is an easy one for me. I am a fan of Reagan, respect Bush I, voted for Perot in '92 and Nader twice. I think the two parties are too close on too many issues thanks to their contributors. But this time, it's different. It is so vitally important to dismiss George W. Bush, that I am willing to cast off my disdain for the two-party system for the first time in my presidential voting career. I'm voting for John Kerry.
Governor (NC): Patrick Ballantine
Easley created his image funded with tax dollars and his slimy attorney general ads. He's awash in money from special interests, and he submitted a budget with lottery earnings in it when we don't have a lottery. Ballantine worries me a bit, but he has shown, at times, the ability to look beyond party politics for the greater good, such as when he submitted to having his district redrawn in a manner which made it tougher for him to keep his seat. Of course, he's not running for that seat anymore, is he?
State Senate: Woody White
Ballantine's seat up for grabs. This one has gotten ugly and I'm going to hold my nose hard when I vote. I liked Julia Boseman, at least I thought she was a breath of fresh air when she started her term as New Hanover County Commissioner. But soon it became clear that she was willing to stab people in the back and make 'behind the scenes' political deals to benefit herself, by say, getting appointed to the hospital board. The way she treated Ted Davis is abominable, and I lost all respect for her when she made a deal with the...I mean, Bobby Greer. Woody White, handpicked by his law partner Patrick Ballantine to fill his vacancy while he ran for governor, has not distinguished himself much beyond his Republican stalwarts, but he seems like he could carry on Ballantine's good work. Then his party starts attacking Boseman for being/taking money from lesbians. Well,I follow politics fairly closely in the paper, and I didn't have a clue she was gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I consider myself an informed voter and I would not have know if Woody hadn't brought it up, so I think it's fair game....especially considering that she's taking money from a gay/lesbian/transexual PAC that requires her to sign some kind of pledge. This ain't pretty folks, but we deserve to know the facts.
Senator: Erskine Bowles
This is the man responsible for balancing the federal budget and giving our country a great run in the 90's....Clinton was a nobody without Bowles. He's a get the job done guy and we need him up there.
Update 8/08: Of course all these candidates lost. The people who won all suck. I can back this up with facts. For example, Julia Boseman? Split with her gay lover and now they are having a custody battle over their adopted child. I was right. Again.