INSTIGATING LOGIC
Flawed, but still the best
By JARED PUTNAM

As much as I like to poke fun at some of the more ridiculous aspects of politics, I take the elections themselves very seriously. After all, these are the people that we have chosen to shape the direction of our country, and in many ways, the direction of our lives.

Beyond that, I think the competitive side of me kicks in on election day, in a way not that different from watching a sports game. The bottom line is I want my guys to win. I actually look forward to sitting down and watching updates on tv or the internet as the state and national returns come in.

Granted, there are plenty of things that could be improved, and most of those probably begin with campaign finance reform. I would like to have less of a feeling that politicians are essentially "owned" by oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, and other special interest groups.

I would also like to see more candidates like John McCain, who are not afraid to break party lines to do what they think is right. The fact is, I often feel like I have to "settle" on a candidate, and I sometimes end up voting against one candidate more than I am voting for another.

I think part of improving that begins with giving third party candidates more of a look. If third party candidates are able to make more of an impact, it not only gives us another viable option, it also forces Republican and Democrat candidates to rethink their positions on certain issues.

This year I was happy to see the national Democratic party field pro-life candidates in some races, including Pennsylvania Senate candidate Bob Casey. I wish more national Democrats would take that stand.

On the opposite side of the spectrum I believe more Republicans should make environmental issues a priority. We only have one planet. If we screw this one up, we can't exactly go buy another off the lot.

But again, at least we have choices, and the freedom to support the people we want to support. That's a great thing that we often take for granted. Watching the situations unfold in Iraq and North Korea over the past few years has made me more appreciative of that right. Because even though our country may be deeply flawed, when you compare it to the rest of the world, I like where we stand.