Is Voting Choosing or Hoping?

Just minutes before the Iowa caucuses and I still have no idea who I’m voting for. My goal was to decide before the Iowa results come in so I’m not swayed and that I wholeheartedly support my man…or woman.

I’ve narrowed it down to three…Obama, Edwards and Clinton. Beyond that I’m absolutely lost. Yes, there is a logical person for me to vote for who on paper has the most in common with me in terms of ideology. Then there is the person with the experience who knows the ropes and will have no problem hitting the ground running. And then there is the person who speaks from their heart and who I truly trust. (I tried to keep my views about each particular candidate somewhat hidden but I fear I have miserably failed…)

Some people say vote your heart. Others say vote for who will beat the Republican nominee in November. Or vote for who you trust. Or who you agree the most with. Or who you’d most likely want to have a drink with. Ok ok…all good points.

I can say I know how Hillary voted on something, or what Obama did before winning the Senate seat, or Edwards’ obsession with poverty reduction, but I can’t “know” the candidates. I do trust some candidates more than others, but why? I’ve never met them, and even if I got the chance to ask them a question and shake their hand what would that show? Trust is something built over time and its ridiculous that the electorate (including myself) can claim to trust some politicians over others. I bet the politicians perceived as trustworthy and likely to beat a Republican have speech writers and PR people who are sleeping contently at night.

So what’s my decision based off? I’d like to think that the research I do to check candidate’s voting records and public statements is what shapes my perception of the person, but how much does press coverage and biased reports have to do with it? How easily misled are we? How can I vote for someone to lead my country if my ultimate decision is based off the success of his or her campaign?

I guess this whole question stems from the fact that I have worked on a campaign before and got to know my candidate pretty well. I learned that candidates, at least the honest ones like the one I worked for, will try as hard as possible to portray themselves publicly as they are in real life. But without knowing the person personally you will never know who they really are. And since my candidate failed to win, the electorate obviously wasn’t able to see the honest, passionate person with a great record that my candidate was and had. Am I missing something now, in this election?

So does it even matter who I pick? Each of the candidates carries with them a possibility of surprise once they get in office since I truly don’t know who they are as people. So I guess I’ll just go with my heart…and cross my fingers.