So I was reading around the internet and I came across an article by Sam Harris, the angry atheist. He was promoting elitism and ripping Sarah Palin for her lack of credentials (while completely ignore Obama's similar lack). His main line of thinking was fairly clear and well reasoned: We want our elite generals running the war and we want our elite businessmen running big businesses, so shouldn't we want elite politicians to run the government? He says that it makes no sense for people to elect candidates because 'they are like me' rather than 'they are the most qualified'.

His argument would make a lot of sense if the government was just doing things like trying to decide what the interest rate should be or whether funding should go to schools or hospitals. Those are hard decisions, but in my opinion are not the decisions that are most important to our country. Even questions like how to get out of Iraq and what to do about belligerent nations take second place the issues that are perceived to be causing America's greatest woes.

Moral questions about homosexuality, abortion, and freedom of speech are not questions that can be answered by experts. Yes, we can talk about how many homosexuals feel imprisoned until they find freedom in Christ. Yes, we can say that there have been over 48 million babies aborted in the US because they were inconvenient. Yes, we can talk about how limiting a pastor's right to say that some things are right and wrong undermines religion and all other freedoms. But these questions are primarily a difference in world view, to which there can be no compromise. One side wins, the other loses. That is the main reason people are so interested in voting for someone who is like them. Conservatives feel that Sarah Palin is more likely to defend their freedoms from the ACLU than anyone else that they've been presented with. And if she needs coaching on international politics, well there are a lot of experts in Washington who can do that. Of course, as much as everyone likes to talk about the scenario of Palin in charge, McCain would have a host of doctors telling him what he can and can't eat and how many times he has to chew. The chances of him dying while in office are very, very small.

As for the other candidates, Obama and Biden are both way out in left field. According to Wikipedia, Biden has a lifetime liberal 72 percent score from the Americans for Democratic Action through 2004, while the American Conservative Union awarded Biden a lifetime conservative rating of 13 percent through 2007. Similarly, Obama has a lifetime average conservative rating of 7.67% from the ACU, and a lifetime average liberal rating of 90% from the ADA. McCain earned average lifetime 13 percent from the ADA and a lifetime rating of 82 percent from the ACU. I don't have numbers for Palin since she is relatively unknown, but everyone paints her as conservative as you can get.

I understand that if Obama probably believes himself to be a Christian (and he would have no shot at the election if he didn't at least claim it), but it is amazing how people can claim to be something while actively working against the position they are claiming.

I don't know how any Christian who believes the Bible can vote for someone who seems so diametrically opposed to their views. It would be one thing if it were a non-legislative position, meaning he didn't make laws for everyone, but Obama has declared to support the things I oppose and oppose the things I support. See this page for the two candidates' stance on positions.

I feel like I need to clean up this post, but I don't know when I'll get to it.