Choosing the President in 2008: Healthcare Versus Honesty

The Presidential Election of 2008 is upon us. We have many candidates, both Democrat and Republican. There seem to be many candidates who even have a chance at winning this term.

Somehow, this has become a highly important election year for President, judging by how early the Presidential race has heated up. The candidates have been on fire, and this will most likely continue until the Election is over next November (or maybe longer if we have another chad debate.)

There are certain issues that the candidates seem to focus on, when addressing audiences and participating in debates. If you go to the candidates' websites, most likely you'll find information about how they feel on these issues as well. Everyone has a platform on healthcare, an opinion about the war in Iraq, and educational issues. Although the viewpoints may be different across party lines and even deviate among party members, what holds consistent is that the issues tend to be the same.

But is this what we really need to know about our candidates, or is there more to the decision factor? I think there is more.

1. I think we need to know how well the candidate can work with others. Even if the candidate has a strong opinion about a subject such as healthcare, if the candidate once President is willing to talk to others and discover their valid opinions and work together to come up with a compromise, then isn't that better for us all? We need a President who can work as a team and not just hold fast to her or his own views that might not be the best for this country.

People tend to overlook this and only have themselves to blame. If you vote for a candidate just because of their party affiliation, you are strengthening the parties' needs to have to stay this way, and vote for what the party itself believes. This means less resolution among Congress and the President, if you get a Congress whose party majority is the opposite of the President.