It's good to be independent

I heard on NPR tonight that most registered independent voters are basically choosing between McCain and Obama. I thought that was great, because I've felt strange that my two favorites were from opposite parties.

I've always liked McCain, and he's seemed typify the idea that the more extreme candidates are the ones who get the nomination. He's usually down the middle on a lot of issues, and that just works against you when you're running in the primaries. It's one of the reasons I hate the party system that we have. I have found myself on the Republican side for a while because my goals and beliefs seemed to be best aligned with those goals. I support lower government interference, greater power for the states than the federal government, and decreased taxes. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has failed miserably on the first two counts.

The Republicans are finally starting to recognize the problems with the environment, which used to be the one thing that really drove me towards the left. I've been recycling since junior high, and it only seems natural to try to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and to find better ways to protect the environment. But I think we need a huge change from the direction our country is headed.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.