I’m a true independent (I voted Libertarian in the last election) and I’m truly torn as to who should get my vote.

Eight years of Bush really soured me on the Republican Party. Whatever happened to being the party of fiscal responsibility? Ballooning deficits and an unwillingness to cut spending just have me really depressed. And then there are the social conservatives, which seem to control the party at times and annoy me.

And then there are the Democrats, who actually PREACH big government and the attendant waste it brings. I’m willing to pay higher taxes if it will go to reduce our deficits, but not to enact another god-awful wasteful social program.

And then there are McCain’s health issues and, I don’t know, Obama just looks and acts more like a President to me. But who knows if there is some scandal out there waiting to sink his ship.

Maybe I’ll go Libertarian again. I really wish some third party candidates could take part in the debates…

But look at what you wrote. It’s purely based on emotion. “Obama looks more presidential?” This is what he’s been living off of four 6 months, you even write that you don’t agree with his policies: he’s going to create more wasteful spending programs, he’s admitted he’s not going to reduce the deficit, etc.

Don’t be sucked into the nonsense that John Mccain is just like George Bush because they never have been similar, especially since 2000 when they ran against each other.

I’m not telling you who to vote for, you seem thoughtful; I’m just asking that you re-read the reasons that you think you should vote for Obama and compare them with why you shouldn’t vote for Mccain.

meaning, it’s the only game in town for me, given that we have a 2-party system. I really liked Bush the elder, James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and that crowd. I voted for Bush then, largely cuz I liked his attitude about foreign policy. I liked his approach to American leadership. I like coercive diplomacy and “shared burdens, shared benefits.”

Looking at McCain vs. Obama, Obama is the conservative. He is preaching a GHWB foreign policy. McCain is furthering the GWB approach and is misdiagnosing the whole GWOT.

Nothing in your diary addresses this topic; it’s all about how “radical” he is. Other than conspiracy theories, I don’t see where the radical part is.

And, as always, hoping to be asked to do more for my country. We are both patriotic, you and I. We both love America, it’s ideals, it’s promise, and it’s exceptionalism.

That being said, nothing you wrote made any compelling case to vote for Senator McCain or against Senator Obama. You used the word “radical” often enough, but you did little to explain what it is, precisely, that Senator Obama will do as president that is so horribly “radical.” More radical than this Administration’s bailout of our financial sector? More radical than the moral hazard of Senator McCain’s plan to buy up bad mortgages and renegotiate?

If you’re going to try to change my mind, and the minds of other patriotic Democrats (which would be pretty much every Democrat in my family and every Democratic friend I’ve got) you have to realize two things:

Democrats do not tend to see liberalism as unAmerican and Democrats tend to see Senator Lieberman very negatively (for a host of reasons, some of which go back more than ten years now).

Make a case, a specific case, for what Barack Obama will do that I must vote against. What you have done is not that. You have instead accused him of accepting (though you did not, to your credit, say he did so knowingly) donations from Al Qaeda. I’d suggest you back that up with some kind of evidence. Illegal donations happen every cycle, to every major candidate. Until I see evidence to the contrary, I will assume the infractions are minor.

And for the record, my assumption is no less logical than the opposite. Evidence, please. There are many foreigners who like Obama who are not members of Al Qaeda. Heck, one of them is the Prime Minister of Great Britain. And no, I emphatically reject the notion of foreigners donating to our candidates. This is our country and our decision. I just cannot fathom such a conflation.

I’m your target audience. I’m exactly the sort of Democrat I’d think you’re addressing. I listen to my Republican friends. I disagree amicably. I can be persuaded, from time to time. This appeal falls well short. I have written this response, as lengthy as it is, because I got the impression you wanted your audience to respond. I did not seek this out.

Waving the American flag is great and all, but if that alone were sufficient to convince your countrymen it would have already done so. Appeals to patriotism are never enough, nor should they be. If this is a question of policy then make it a question of policy. Love of country is not specific to any political party or candidate. If you have anything concrete and specific to tell me that you innately know that Senators Obama and Biden hate this country (as opposed to feeling disappointment at our shortcomings, which is emphatically not the same thing) then do so. You assume that the reader will agree with you without laying out a case.

The equivalent would be me writing something at the DailyKos in which I were to say “All smart Republicans, please think of your children and vote for Obama.” It would be a crass and unworkable tract. If this was meant to change minds you need to rework it.

Be well.