We have heard plenty of talk this election about why or why not people vote for a particular candidate. There has been reference to sexism, racism, and religious issues. There is one issue that gets no attention, the split between Democrats and Republicans. There are many people who are going to vote or not vote for a candidate because of their party affiliation. They may not like their candidate, but will vote for that person anyway because of party preference. This would be okay if they at least considered the other candidate, but this type of voter will give no such consideration. I have never been affiliated with any party, so maybe this concept is just hard for me to conceive. I looked at all the candidates and made my decision based on what I think our country needs at this point and time.

Although there is not supposed to be a religious test for President, there seemed to be one in the Republican Primaries.  There were people who wouldn't vote for Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon. I'm sure there are people who would vote for him just because he is a Mormon, but their numbers are small and had little impact. On the other hand there is Mike Huckabee; his situation is the complete opposite. Although there are a few who wouldn't vote for him because of his Christianity, there are many who will vote for him because of it. I know there are always going to be votes for or against a candidate because of their religion, but the for and against should be about the same for each candidate. It is clear in this situation that these numbers are disproportionate.

With an African American candidate in the race there is no surprise of talk about racism. Although there are some who won't vote for a Black candidate because of his color, there are also some who will vote for him because of his color. I don't believe there is a substantial difference in these numbers and that they pretty much cancel each other out. Even though Barack Obama is now getting a majority of the Black vote, this wasn't the case in the beginning. There were many who said he had no shot because of this low support. It is clear that Barack won over this vote as he has with many groups. Overlooked in the race issue is the generational gap. I don't believe race is even an issue for the younger voter. Most of the talk about race seems to stem from the older people. I guess this is why race has been a big issue for the news media, as it is mostly older white guys. It seems to me that race is only an issue for those whom race is an issue.

The sexism regarding Hillary Clinton is hard to substantiate. Again, there are people who won't vote for her because she is a woman and there are people who will because she is a woman. But this is no ordinary woman, the fact that she is a Clinton makes a big difference. If it were a different woman we could get a better idea of the effects of sexism. In Hillary's case there are people who will vote for her because she is a Clinton and there are people who won't because she is a Clinton. Whether she wins or loses it will be hard to see the effects of sexism once you account for the Clinton factor. I think the sexism issue is another one that will cancel itself out, as their wouldn't be a substantial difference between the for and against vote.

There are many reasons that don't make sense as to why or why not someone will vote for a candidate. This happens in every election, but there just happens to be unique differences for the 2008 election. There is one split I am hoping to see for this election, the candidate who says elect me because I will go run things and you can just shop or the candidate who says elect me because I will ask you to do your part as an American citizen. The only way we are going to get our country headed in the right direction is if we the people are ready to get to work and are willing to sacrifice. Barack Obama has touched on this subject, but I am hoping to see him take it further if he is the Democratic nominee. I know there will be many who won't vote for Barack for various reasons, but how sad it would be if one of those reasons is because we are asked to sacrifice for our country.