I learned about an enormous amount of things in the 2004 election. This was the first election that I actually followed very closely. At work I would listen to political radio commentary all day. For some reason, I just found myself glued to any information regarding the two candidates. When the election first started, I found myself completely for John Kerry. As the year went on, I started to realize that I don’t really like the idea of either one of these candidates running the country. When I sit down and honestly think about it, I think the most important thing I learned during this election is not to make up my mind so quickly before hearing what all the candidates have to say. At some point during the election, I managed to give both guys a clean slate. Meaning I was no longer saying my vote is going to Kerry.

I thought the entire campaign was unnecessarily ugly. Both sides had negative tactics and ad campaigns. Suddenly this election wasn’t about doing what’s right. It was about beating the other guy. Kerry had an easy target. He could attack Bush for a war that most of America disagreed with. Bush’s only real response was to defend himself by bringing up the intelligence that gave him the information of mass weapons of destruction in Iraq. From there, Bush’s only tactic was to go after Kerry’s record. When all the arguing was over, you realize that Bush wasn’t doing a terrible job as president. He just wasn’t doing a great job. Kerry attacked Bush for jobs, debt, illegal aliens, etc. Half of which America saw coming before Bush. I can remember hearing that we were entering a recession before him. The other half maybe responsible for the use of the National Guard in Iraq. So when you stop and think about it, the Iraq war is really the only target at this point. Once you listen to other major offerings that Kerry has if he obtained presidency, weren’t really what people saw as the most important thing to take care of. One example was healthcare, and his plan to allow people to choose their own doctor. I think people realized if you’re wanting to decrease the national debt, perhaps we shouldn’t be considering new programs. Especially since the country is in a slump.

Once all the cards are laid out on the table, you realize that whether you see the war as a mistake or not, that it may not be wise to switch presidents at a time when you’re trying to setup elections and clean up a possible mistake you made in Iraq. Kerry didn’t offer any revolutionary tool that would justify changing a president at an important time. This is what was the most important thing that I learned during this election. I can’t make up my mind so early. I don’t like Bush. I don’t like what he has done while he’s been in office, but I think changing the president at this point in time might have resulted in some extra problems. It doesn’t matter if you like or dislike someone, all candidates must receive the fair amount of attention that’s owed to them, because they’re two sides to every story as the saying goes.