It’s time to decide

With the presidential election finally upon us, our country will soon know who our next president will be. People are getting ready to go to the polls and cast their votes for the candidates, however some people are still undecided.

Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama are two entirely different people at completely opposite ends of the political spectrum, which is why it is so baffling to me that people are still confused about this issue.

Each presidential candidate’s official Web site has brief facts that everyone should know about the candidates. Even though coverage of the issues and the election has reached massive proportions, there are still people who are undecided. The question is, how is it possible to be undecided at this point?

Take the issue of health care into consideration. Think about where McCain stands on issues such as abortion and birth control. He is pro-life and according to his official Web site, supports the overturning of Roe v. Wade, while Obama is pro-choice and has more liberal views on health care. Obama will also do more to promote public health and make sure lower-income families are able to have quality health care.

This close to the presidential election, it is really important that everyone looks at the issues one last time, because it is do or die at this point. There has been endless coverage, many debates and countless ways to become informed on the issues. If you think you are undecided, but still an “informed” voter, you are wrong. If you were really informed, you would have been able to make a decision. This presidential election is completely black and white.

In fact, because McCain and Obama were the presumptive nominees months before the national conventions ,people have had much more time to start narrowing their choices-even before nominations were officially announced.

What is perhaps making the decision process harder is dislike of both candidates. McCain’s controversial pick of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate made many moderate Republicans nervous, but still hesitant to cross party lines to vote for Obama. However, the choosing of running mates should have narrowed down the decision process, especially because Palin’s politics are scarily conservative and unrealistic for today’s American. Obama’s lack of experience with issues such as foreign policy have also made people hesitant to make a final decision.

During the 2004 presidential election, the Comedy Central show “South Park” ran an episode about voting in the presidential election. According to IMDB.com, the episode featured one of the characters being hesitant to vote for a school mascot because he did not like either of the choices.

This is not South Park, Colo. In reality, not voting for a president because you are not able to make a decision should not be an option. It is our duty to do whatever we can to help our country by voting. Now is the time to stand firm and make a choice, because the outcome of the presidential election will change many things about our daily lives. Wouldn’t it be better to at least know you made your voice heard?

This election will happen on Tuesday whether we like it or not. The candidates will not magically change overnight to people who are believed to be “safer” choices. If you haven’t been able to make a decision by now, you really should just pack up and leave the country because you’re just not helping the situation in any way.

If you were thinking of voting for McCain but are having second thoughts, maybe this is a time to go with your instincts. Let’s face it, it’s either going totally with your gut, or it’s playing “eeny-meeny-miny-moe” until a decision is made by default-and that might annoy people to the point of homicide, especially because lines will be out of control at many polling places.