i am not who i voted for

so stop coming up to me with your obama grief.

yes, i did vote for obama.

no, i did not pledge allegiance to 100% of the actions he would take while in office. in fact, i have a small shopping list of things he's done that i highly disagree with.

i don't dig the libya thing (and whether you do or don't, i don't care at the moment, this is not an opportunity to disagree with me). but i'm tired of people coming up to me making snarky comments like, "what do you think about your boy obama now?" anyone who would assume that i would back this up simply cuz i voted for the man is insulting my intelligence and i gladly ask that you take your words and eat them.

here's the thing, when i vote, i don't vote for a savior, a superhero, a magician, or a maker of miracles. i'm well aware that the campaign season is full of all sorts of grand speak and deceit. when i hit the voting booth, i'm looking for the lesser of two evils, and that's about it. when i voted obama, i openly told anyone who asked that i just thought he was a better dude than mccain. if you asked me 6 years ago, i'd have said, 'i just think john kerry's a better dude than george w.'

i stand by my vote. i still to this day think obama is the lesser of two evils. if i had to do it all over again, there's no way i'd vote for mccain! no way, whatsoever! this doesn't mean that in my mind, obama has a license to freely do as he pleases. i hold the man accountable for his actions and when he goes against what i feel is the right thing to do, i don't cower inside and say, 'well, guess i gotta stand by him cuz i voted for him.'

i also feel that i must explain why i won't vote third party anytime soon either. i did at one time vote for nader. that was george w., round 1. i was a lot more idealistic then. these politicians play politics like coaches coach football. dudes like nader are blessings in disguise for guys like bush. it sucks that i have to downplay nader as that cuz i really dig the dude and everything he stands for. but that was when i voted for an individual, when i thought that was more important that voting for the realistic lesser of two evils.

we got a long ways to go before a 3rd party candidate stands a realistic chance in this country. ross perot may be the closest we see for a long time. if a third dude came in and got some steam, and it looked like he could turn it into a realistic three way race, then i'd consider voting third party. but i can't in good conscience vote that way and watch bad dudes like george w. bush reap the benefits.

so my apologies to mr. nader. you're awesome. and you've done a lot with your career. you even hosted snl.

so that's it. don't call me obama. i'm not him. i just voted for him. i voted for him cuz my conscience said, 'this is the best realistic shot this country's got.

and the way some of these contenders are looking right now that are lining up to go against him in 2012, i wouldn't doubt if obama wins my 'lesser of two evils' vote once again. doesn't mean i won't get pissed every time he decides to stick our military into something i'd rather not see american lives be sacrificed for.