Vote or die

So I'm trying to figure out whom to vote for today. Obviously, instead of focusing on the presidential primary ticket, for which we're essentially voting on who to vote for again in November, I should be learning about my local candidates. The presidential hopefuls get all the press, even the local press, but it's the county commissioners and the like that actually effect our lives the most on a daily basis. They're the ones that have the most impact on things like schools and zoning laws and local taxes. Really, the president is just someone whose mug you're going to have to put up with seeing on TV for the next four to eight years. That relatively anonymous county commissioner you don't pay any attention to could have a say in your property taxes and how much the teachers in your district get paid.

But I can't. I'm too enamored with Barack and Hillary. It's primary day, so I figured today would be a good time to actually learn something about all the candidates, but I just can't get past those big-ticket items. Maybe later, when I'm bored, I'll do a little research into all those people vying for county seats. Right now, I'm too busy comparing the web sites of (in my mind) the presidential front-runners.

Obama in a landside. Hillary's site is nice enough and easy to navigate, but Obama has some seriously slick design people working for him. There's only one problem with it: the color scheme and logo constantly remind me of Pepsi. Then again, he is selling himself as the choice of a new generation, so maybe it's intentional. Back before I cut out sodas entirely, I had decided that, despite my Atlanta-area upbringing, Diet Pepsi does in fact taste better than Diet Coke, so it's not a problem for me.

Another plus is that Obama's Issues page, where the candidate puts forth his various positions, only features one photo of the man himself. Hillary's shows her in different situations for each issue, such as standing in front of a John Deere tractor where she's ostensibly "Creating Opportunity for Rural America." That's fine and all, but there are 14 different photos of the woman on just this one page. I don't want to focus on appearances, so don't make me. Less is more in this case.

Aside from the web sites, which are both perfectly serviceable, it seems the most glaring difference between the two is universal healthcare, and I'm not sure which side of that I fall on yet.

How come Hillary hasn't yet pointed out to the hard-line Republican war mongers that if they really want to stick it to the jihadists they'll elect a woman president? Maybe that's her trump card. It could get her some swing votes, you never know.