Election 2008

Ben and I have decided that for basically the first time in our lives, we are going to be educated voters. We have both voted before, but never truly made the effort to be informed about the issues and candidates' stances on them. So far we have done, started or are planning to start things like:

- Watch local and national news more regularly

- Watch the debates (including the CNN/YouTube debate - a few more thoughts on this later)

- Read "voter's guides" produced by various publications and organizations, in hopes of getting more perspectives and assessments of the candidates

- Subscribe to (and actually read) a national news magazine

- Pray about the election - the candidates, the voters, how God wants us to vote

We're excited about this, but it will be challenging, too. We would often rather be watching Friends, SportsCenter, or various other TV shows than watching the news or reading. But we know it'll be worth the effort.

Regarding the CNN/YouTube debate, I think it is interesting how the younger generations are being targeted more in this election with things like the CNN/YouTube debate, the ABC News/WMUR-TV/Facebook New Hampshire debates, and Mike Huckabee's collaboration with Chuck Norris on a campaign ad. Who knows, come 2012, the mud-slinging campaign ads will be solely broadcast on YouTube, the debates will be done via live blogging, and we will be casting our votes via text message, "Balloting for Blackberry" (I made that up) and accepting candidates' invitations to become their "friend" on Facebook.