Update: Believers for Barack. I just don’t see it.
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On the morning of November 5, 2008, some of us will be disappointed and others pleased. I voted for the first time at age 25. I pulled the lever for Bill Clinton in 1992 and again in 1996. I escaped leftism and voted for George Bush in 2000 and again in 2004.
When it comes to presidential elections, I’ve always been on the winning side. I’ve never had the dreaded feeling of waking up the day after an election and being bitterly disappointed. I hope the streak continues. 
(Click on the thumbnail to see larger map.)
I know I’ve said and written that it doesn’t matter to me who’s in the White House. Hey, frustration makes say such things. Of course it matters. America won’t fall apart if Barack Obama is elected president.
But it will become less like the place I know and love.
Pigs, Lipstick, and Illiterates
Despite the fact that election news is everywhere, you’ll notice I haven’t done a daily play-by-play of who said what to and about whom. I keep up with all of it, but I don’t blog about it. I don’t want to read one more retread news story that takes things out of context and quotes every little gaffe or dumb comment, so I certainly don’t want to blog about it.
I think the “lipstick on a pig” headlines and Barack Obama’s inane ad about John McCain being computer illiterate are ridiculous beyond reason. Serious discourse isn’t highly valued, at least not among mainstream media. Then again, the stakes are high, and both camps have hit below the belt. Sensationalism is what people want, but I’m not getting caught up.
If you check this blog every day or every week to find out what I have to say about this latest gaffe or that new ad, you’re probably disappointed. Don’t waste time dissecting every ad and news story and quote. Focus on the bigger picture: which presidential candidate is the best man to lead our country? I believe that for anyone calling himself a Christian and claims to uphold a biblical worldview, the choice is obvious.
A person’s morals and values should trump skin color and sex. I’m not impressed that a black man was nominated for president. I have never supported anyone for anything just because the person’s black or a woman. If this country never elects a black or female president in my lifetime, I won’t lose sleep over it. All I care about is what that person stands for.
As a Christian, I cannot ignore or discount a person’s views on issues I deeply care about. My faith in Christ lives within every thought and informs every decision. A candidate doesn’t have to be a Christian to get my vote, but he must strive to uphold traditional values.
Child Killing and Homosexual “Marriage”
I’m pretty much a two-trick pony. To get my vote, you must be pro-life and you must advocate protecting traditional marriage. Protecting unborn life and the institution upon which civilization depends is crucial.
People complain that politicians try to divide voters with “wedge” issues. It’s what they should do. Conservatives should magnify and reinforce so-called conservative values and expose liberalism for what it is. Opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage are huge components of conservatism. Use these issues to divide and conquer.
These days, McCain is calling himself pro-life. In fact, he’s spoken out quite strongly against infanticide, known euphemistically as partial birth abortion. McCain chastised Republicans in 2004 for voting for a federal amendment to ban homosexual “marriage” because he believes the issue should be left up to the states. In that regard, he supports California Proposition 8 (will appear on the November 4 ballot), which would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Everything else for me is either a secondary issue or issues I know most Republican candidates support: smaller/limited government, strong national defense, stopping illegal “immigration,” dismantling government preferences based on race, etc.
Barack Obama is not pro-life and has no desire to protect traditional marriage. Sadly, too many Christians will end up voting for him because they hate Republicans, or want to see a black man in the White House, or believe women have a right to kill their babies, or don’t really care that homosexual activity is an abomination to God and “marriages” therein a mockery.
Supreme Court Justices
I wish there were someone other than McCain running on the Republican ticket, but he’s what we have. There’s a possibility in the next four years at least one Supreme Court justice will retire. Because justices have so much power, which they’ve improperly wielded at times (Roe v. Wade), it’s crucial that we elect a president who will appoint someone committed to exercising judicial restraint and applying original intent.
You know the kind of person/people Obama would appoint.
I’ve criticized McCain in the past. He’s not a strong conservative. But I believe getting him into the White House is extremely important if conservatives want to maintain even a slight majority on the court. Let me be up front: I hope I live to see the day when Roe v. Wade is overturned and states begin to severely restrict child killing or ban it outright.
Christians for Obama
Don’t allow a man’s skin color or your hatred for the other side to trump what you know to be right and true. John McCain is no saint (men who cheat on their wives enrage me), and I even question his faith. But his political stances are a better match for Bible-believing Christians. Barack Obama is to be admired for presumably being faithful to his wife, but what he stands for politically is the antithesis of a biblical worldview.
If you are a Christian and plan on voting for Barack Obama, perhaps you ought to take some time to re-evaluate what you believe and whether those beliefs are biblical. If you’re saved, you’re saved. Voting for Obama won’t condemn you to hell. But I urge you to pray about your choice and spend time re-reading the Bible as Election Day approaches.
