voters I can respect

A good voter is an informed voter and I believe it is the responsibility of everyone to do their research and decide for themselves who they think is the best candidate. I cannot respect a person who votes based on trivial things, like race or sex or parenthood status. You have to find the candidate whose values and statements best match your own, and don’t allow yourself to be mislead by sensational media stories or blatantly false e-mail forwards.

I highly recommend Project Vote Smart, where you can read candidate platforms, decisions, backgrounds, speeches, endorsements, issue positions and voting records, as well as those of their running mates, as available.
Also, VA Joe Candidate Calculator and Vote Help Candidate Calculator are invaluable resources for help determining which candidate most closely matches your positions.

Granted, I am highly biased and firmly entrenched in my decision for this year's election, but I still think it's essential for everyone to look at the information and come to his or her own conclusions.

When I hear that people are voting for McCain based only on the sex of his VP nominee, that "she's a mother and I'm a mother so she must understand me," that "I like Alaska so I like her," etc. that, to me, is missing the point. Whether or not a person is suited for public office is not based on their ability to conceive (or over-conceive) or the color of their skin. It is their background and experience, their platform, their values, their stance on the issues, their ability to comprehend science, their ability to separate their religion from their politics.

This is a very important election at a very important time in our country and I cannot fathom that there are people who do not feel strongly one way or another about the outcome. While I do not understand people who are on the "other side of the aisle," I can respect their decision if they are voting based on their understanding of the issues involved and they truly feel that the other candidate is really the better choice. However, I cannot respect the decision, while people certainly do have this choice, not to vote. How can you not be outraged, one way or the other? What has our system of politics in this country come to when there are people now, today, in this climate, who are actually ambivalent about the candidates? How can you not be completely appalled?