Okay, so here it is.  We are just entering what is sure to be a long and dirty campaign season.  And this right after we just ended a long and dirty campaign season.  None of which is new, either to the process or to me.  However, what may be new is that I am paying much more attention this time ’round.  May be I am older, a parent, a home owner or just that I am finally becoming a bit more responsible.  Whatever the reason or reason, I just am.

So, now, I am watching the race and am feeling that I have a favorite, that I am leaning one way or the other.  And, after reflection, I am not at all sure why.  Is it the old John Deere vs. International thang?  For those of you not familiar with that, perhaps you could relate to Ford vs. Chevy?  Or, in the end, perhaps the most powerful example; Vikings vs Packers.  Whatever it is, it bothers me that there is, well, an is.  I should know who I am pulling for and why.  And to do that, I need to understand the issues that are:

  1. Important to me
  2. Important to the country
  3. Important to the candidates

There, that it the why.  Now the how.

I would like to be able to go through and identify those things that I consider important and try to establish the facts and imports of them.  To see if I really feel the way that I think I feel.  After that, perhaps I can make some better decisions on who I support.  And more importantly, why.  Hopefully, as I go through the list, I will be able to find things that are important to others, post them and work them as well.  Then, when all of that is done, it would be interesting to see if a “political theory” can be applied to see where these things fall in the whole a priori “ought”.  For example, what is State roles vs. Federal ROles and how does that impact the specific “issue”.

So, the first single step of our thousand mile journey begins……