Politics is not my thing … yet.

OK.  I’ve never really been interested in politics.  I’ve pretty much just gone with the majority without much thought behind it.  I know.  Very un-American of me.  But, hey it’s true.  That is, until this election.  With our nation in the midst of a financial crisis without a solution in sight, I’ve been shaken into political consciousness and am taking a closer look at the candidates so I can make an intelligent decision.  And if you want a passionate opinion of our financial crisis, read this post.  It really opened my eyes!

The whole family has taken an interest in this election.  We’ve been watching the debates together and discussing the differences between the candidates.  But, honestly, it’s hard to tell where they stand with all the meaningless rhetoric and mumbo jumbo.   So, when I was forwarded an email linking the BarackObamaTest, I was intrigued and clicked right on over.  You’re asked several questions about the major political issues and your answers determine, percentage-wise, how closely you agree with Obama.  I read a little more about the background of the test.  Apparently it was written by a guy named Bradley O’Leary who is the former president of the American Association of Political Consultants.  He wrote a book about Obama for this reason:

“I basically wrote this book for my six daughters and six of my grandchildren who can vote because a couple of them had told me they were going to vote for Barack Obama,” O’Leary says. “When I asked them why, they said because he was good looking, his rhetoric was wonderful, [and] they liked listening to him.”

That would have been me many years ago.

In response, he put together a test for voters to compare their views on the issues with those of Obama. “You score one point every time you agree with Barack Obama and you subtract a point every time you disagree with him,” O’Leary explains. “And if you wind up in the plus area, then you should vote for him. If you wind up in the minus area, then you should perhaps rethink about who you’re going to vote for.”

So, of course I took the test.  I’ve kind of been on the fence about the candidates but after taking this test, I was surprised at just how far on one side I scored.  I’m aware that the author is probably biased, although I felt the questions were worded pretty fairly, but at least this opened my eyes to many of the issues.

Your turn.  See if you’re surprised at your score.

BarackObamaTest

I’m off to do more research… or maybe the laundry…  No, research sounds a little better.