One last (maybe) reason to vote for OBAMA tomorrow...

I have written before about my skepticism and dislike of political polls that can negatively affect the actual results, as seen with the New Hampshire Democratic 2008 primary. But after listening to Morning Edition today, I think I have a new appreciation for the fact that polls can report information instead of or in addition to speculation.

The poll that I want to point out for anyone out there who is still undivided about how to vote in tomorrow's primary (if you are one of the states with primaries tomorrow) deals with how Republican voters respond to Democrat candidates. The story is linked above for you. The results of one poll showed that out of Republican voters, Hillary Clinton has a 5% base and Barack Obama has 13% base. This is important for anyone who adamantly does not want another Republican in office. I'm sure these numbers are somewhat dependent on who is the Republican nominee. According to this story, I am not the only liberal out there who would rather vote for McCain if Clinton is the Democrat nominee... So I urge voters to look at these elections with a view towards the long term. We are not just picking who we think is the best speaker or who will "advance" women's rights (which some people think just electing a woman will do even if that woman is not the right person for president). Primaries are about picking the best candidate to run against the opposing side. We have no idea what can happen in the next few months but I think there is a lot to be learned from how people are feeling now.

So that's all I think I have to say before Super Tuesday but I may be back later.

I get to vote as an Illinois resident in less than 24 hours! Yay! This will also be my first election in an actual polling place since elections always happened while I was away in college!