I am concerned about the number of people whom I have talked with who say they are undecided or too disgusted by both candidates to vote in the coming election. I know that they are representatives of a much larger group of disillusioned voters, which is troubling.

The causes for this discontent are irrelevant; what is relevant is that people overcome their dissatisfaction and/or confusion and vote rationally.

To the disgruntled; while you may have legitimate reasons to balk at each candidate, the reality is that one of them will be the next president. Not voting because you despise a candidate on a personal level or voting for a third-party candidate by default is simply lazy and irresponsible. If you are for some reason unable to see past the trivial personality traits of each candidate, just pick the one who is “less negative” to you.

It would be wiser to ignore these traits and focus on the substance of each candidate’s position.

To the undecided: It’s time to wake up. I think that the problem for most voters who are still undecided is not one of being unable to determine where a candidate stands on an issue, but rather a problem of self-identity; they don’t know where they stand on the issue themselves.

Anyone who looks at Bush and Kerry objectively should be able to see the differences. Therefore, I find it very unlikely that people truly cannot differentiate Kerry’s position from Bush’s position.

If you fall into the group that fails to see the stark contrast between Bush and Kerry, it might be prudent to reconcile you own beliefs and determine where you yourself stand on the issues.

Once you do this, it should be no chore to identify which candidate best represents your views, and thus you have someone to vote for.

So please vote and please vote responsibly. I know it is clich‚, but our future depends on your vote, so do as much as you can to make a well-informed decision.

Casey Muhm

Senior

Political Science