Voting update

The best thing about off-year elections is that it's so much easier to vote. I remember waiting almost three hours in Gaithersburg, MD for the 2004 presidential election, and I arrived EARLY. The bad thing about off-year elections is that for the most part, I have no clue who I should vote for. Other than Judge Seamus McCaffrey (who got my vote simply because he's a Marine, and there's nothing like a Marine dispensing justice), I'll admit I chose the candidates who I think I've heard of, but ask me to pick them out of a crowd and I'm stumped. I mixed up my ballot between Democratic candidates and Republican candidates, giving about a 60-40 edge to the Dems. I'm sorry, but the Republican commissioner for Chester County had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the war in Iraq, so why punish them for it? That's the best part about being a registered independent, I think. You choose candidates based on their past performance and merit, and not simply along party lines. Or, you choose them because you happened to catch their campaign ad during the MNF game and thought it was catchy. Democracy in action...

It wasn't in any doubt, but it appears that Michael Nutter is the new mayor-elect for Philadelphia. For those of you unfamiliar with politics in this corner of the world, the Democrats control Philly, while the Republicans hold the suburbs. That will definitely hold true tonight in the city, but the suburban races will be tight. Philly, on the other hand, is no contest. In fact, the Inquirer ran a front-page story about the concern many people had about the low turnout today because of the huge lead Nutter had going into this morning. Even if the outcome of a vote is certain, I still feel it's our duty to participate. Let's face it, there are still many people around the world who would die to vote as freely as we do. Some things just should not be taken for granted, and this is one of them. Besides, there are other issues on the ballot in Philadelphia that deserve to be addressed. Get out there and vote.