The Outcome

I have NOT posted every day this month like my original plan was.  Mostly because I have so much going through my mind but I don't know how to put it in a blog.  I have been, well...not obsessed, but the elections and the outcome have been on my mind a lot the past week.
I am a republican.  Mostly.
I honestly don't feel that either party represents me at all.  Since high school civics class I have viewed myself as a liberal republican or a conservative democrat   I'm not sure I am even a 'moderate.'  But four years ago, I was fed up.  Republicans seemed arrogant and out of touch.  Perhaps the media does a good job of molding the news in exactly that way.  Well, whatever it was, it worked.  And then Sarah Palin was chosen for VP?  Seriously?
I voted for Obama in 2008.  I really like him.  I thought he had the potential to be a good leader.
Over the past four years it doesn't seem like he has been able to do much but four years is a short time. And congress has been HORRIBLE for all four years. I like that he is working to get our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Notice, I didn't say 'end the war' because I don't think we can end that war.  But it is time to get out of there and bring the military HOME to their families.  I don't think "Obamacare" was a success at all because there is still a lot that we don't know and there is still so much disagreement.  But I do agree that something has to be done and he really wanted to get it done.

(ugh.  I'm stuck.  how do i get from here to where i want to go? this is why i haven't blogged in 4 days.)

State of the Union in January 2012 I still really like Obama.  Republican primaries came out and each candidate made me wince a little.  They were too....too something.  and too much.  As I examined my perspective I realized that my only problem with Romney was that he was too rich.  I didn't THINK he was oily or untrustworthy.  But I realized I was worried about him only because he is rich.  Well, Obama is rich too.  So I started listening to Romney.  Not what the news was saying about him, but listening to him.
I am Mormon.  FACT: all Mormons did not vote for Romney.  FACT: not all Mormons are Republican.  In fact many of my friends and family are Democrats.  And I don't think that I started thinking that I needed to vote with Romney to show Mormon solidarity.  But the fact that he is Mormon and I am Mormon did influence me vote.  I could answer positively to the statement that "This candidate is like me or understands me and my life."
When I hear that he was a Bishop and Stake President I know what that means in his life because my father was a Bishop and a Stake President.
Because he is Mormon and I am Mormon, I was connected to social networks that knew stories about him off camera and I read them.
The LDS church makes the world a little bit smaller because everyone knows everyone--or at least knows someone else that you know.
It's kind of like the "Six Degrees from Kevin Bacon." [my six degrees are (1) the neighbor that lived upstairs in one of our first apartments had a (2) cousin who was in (3) Footloose in the final dance number with Kevin Bacon. Yeah, I'm only separated from Kevin Bacon by 3 degrees.]
I do not know Romney personally, but my cousin lives in Boston, in Romney's stake and so I have heard stories about Romney and his family from my cousin.  My Mom's cousin worked for the Romney campaign and he's been pushing for Romney since 2008. He is an amazing, smart, thoughtful person and I value his opinions   I've never been that close to a candidate for the office of President of the United States before.
Then there was Romney himself.  I thought that he played a clean campaign.  I thought he was very honest.  I like that he distanced himself from the extreme right after he was nominated.  I thought he did very well in the debates.  The debates were perhaps the turning point for me.  There was no media spin on the debates, they were uncut and I could watch them live--not clips of speeches taken out of context.  And Obama did not do so well in the debates.
It also crossed my mind that Romney couldn't be 'bought.'  He already has enough money so he wasn't in it for the money/bribes/lobby.  I am not entirely sure that Obama is above being 'bought.'
The other thing that turned me off to the democrats--not so much Obama, but the democrats--was turning Romney into a woman's rights hater. But I will save that for another post altogether cause I'm not ready to put that together yet.

Yes--I voted for Romney
No--I don't think that Obama's re-election marks the beginning of the end.
I think they are both good men with a desire to help their country and the people that live in this country with them.  They just have different ideas of how to do that.
"Ah there's the rub."