Are you looking forward for the election year?

No this election will be one in which I vote for the "lesser of the evils" not the best man for the job.

I know supporters of presidents always say their candidates are different, but Ron Paul really is different. I'm 24 and this will be the first time I'm voting and am very excited about the Ron Paul revolution, which the media is completely blacking out. I suggest looking him up on youtube and check out www.ronpaul2008.com. He is the real deal truth. He is a10 term congressman with a 100% constitutional voting record.

I HATE the campaign ads and all the junk mail, etc... but I have an optimist buried somewhere inside of me hoping that one day one of these will actually influence change for the better.

I like the idea of a woman or an African American as President. However, I would like to combine the 2 and see Condeleeza Rice run next term. I really want to see a Republican in office one more term to really see what the Republicans have done the past 8 Years. He can truely take credit or really take heat!

Right now, no...I am not looking forward to the election. I am hopeful that by election day I will have been inspired by someone who I believe will try to make the United States of America better, not in just words, but by their deeds.

Yes. I know that elections can often get dirty and all the ads get annoying and sometimes you feel as though you are choosing between the, "lesser of two evils." Nevertheless, I do think it's worth remembering that nearly 3 billion human beings, living on our Earth, never get the opportunity to have any input at all into their government. For all its warts, come November 4, 2008, I will be casting a vote in favor of one candidate over another. However small, I will be participating in a democratic decision, one that I will share with 120 million of my fellow citizens.

I think sometimes we forget that our little experiment here is less than 250 years old, a really short amount of time in the grand scheme, and that we are still tweaking it, trying to get it right. Yes, candidates sling mud, and yes they bend the truth. But so too do they engage in meaningful debate about real issues that affect real people. That we live in a place where our leaders have to explain their views to us to win our votes (even with all the other stuff that comes along with that) is a blessing.

So, yes, I am looking forward to election year.

@chris6137: As I have posted before, this site is not the appropriate venue for posts like yours which are little more than campaign promotional materials. If you have discussion, fine, but to merely promote a candidate's campaign promotional YouTube video is, imho, cheap. P.S., I did check out that "constitutional video" you promoted previously, and from a legal and political standpoint I could go on for pages as to how full of cow puckey many of the positions given are, but I have neither the energy or time. If this is how you or Mr. Paul come to your positions, you should understand no one who is the least bit knowledgeable about how the Constitution actually works will do anything but shake their head or giggle. If any credible attorney attempted to assert these arguments in front of a federal appellate court it would be the end of their appellate career. Since apparently the only reason you post is to promote Mr. Paul, I have to wonder if you aren't formally or informally part of his campaign just lurking out there to try to push his campaign. The more you post like this, not only am I less likely to support Mr. Paul, I am tempted to actively oppose him.

I am looking forward to this election, as the personalities running are so much more interesting than the last few campaigns. Politics aside, looking at sheer entertainment value, Bush was no great communicator, Kerry and Gore, frankly, incredibly boring speakers, the last interesting campaigners were Mr. Clinton and Bob and Elizabeth Dole.

geez I didn't know I couldn't be excited about voting for the first time bc of a certain candidate. I have nothing to do with ron Paul except for the fact that I like what he has to say. Ill tell you what though hossman should be a moderator here bc he is very good at telling people what they should or should not post. And all i am trying to do is let ppl know he is out there bc the mass media rarely even mentions his name.

Actually, according to the moderators of this site, they prefer for the fluther community to self-moderate, as I am doing. I have no problem with you discussing Mr. Paul's policies, or being excited. But when you simply repeatedy link to his campaign videos, or ask questions that clearly are rhetorical, seek no answer, and are merely excuses to promote his campaign, I will take you to task for it. This is a question/answer site, not a political blog or political advertising. I merely ask, politely, for you to direct these particular posts to another site that is more appropriate, as you are modifying the tone and intent of this site in a manner not appreciated by many of us. I frequently moderate the tone and content of my posts because I am being tempted to digress into the same sort of conduct as you, but I choose to restrain myself, as this is not the appropriate forum. If you have analysis and commentary, please post it. If you just want to be a campaign shill, go elsewhere. And certainly you don't think you should be able to post a link to a site that purports to give legal analysis of the Constitution, and not be prepared to have a lawyer, experienced in such analysis, to express his opinion. As a lawyer and teacher, you can't expect me to allow ignorance (the video, not yours) to go unopposed. You want to give your opinion, fine. It will be accompanied by mine.

But thank you for being polite, chris6137.

I appreciate your insight hossman, especially if you are a lawyer. One of my favorite things about the Internet is that real people that might or more importantly might not have a certain agenda, can express their knowledge and feelings on anything, and it forces you to research and think on your own, unlike the tv , that majority of ppl believe everything they hear on tv. Or in Ron Pauls case, not hear on tv. I got very good grades in high school, yet I knew nothing about the Constitution, and neither do most of my peers. The constitution video made slot of sense to me in explaining rights and privelages. Could you please explain where the video is wrong, bc I think everyone should know their god given rights and that the constitution should be understood not amde up as we go, as I feel this administration is doing.

and as far as posting links to videos, why not? It cant hurt to watch vifeos and he forced to think on your own. There is soooi much info and good questions ppl ask all over tue internet, ans i do not feel bad promoting them. The internet should be the key to ALL info and ideas

chris6137: This is one of those areas in which I regretfully limit myself because this is not an appropriate venue. I would probably enjoy writing a dissertation on even just the most obvious flaws in the first hour or so of that video, but this isn't the place for it. Further, a lot of what I said you would have to take at face value, as I can't possibly reproduce a semester or so of Constitutional Law here. Much as I hate to leave a question unanswered, I'll have to do so. You are evidently a big fan of the Internet, but mixed in with all the good free information is a lot of incredibly bad information, and I would just suggest you be careful about accepting anybody's video or internet information, including Mr. Paul or any other candidate, without the necessary background to evaluate the information. Enthusiasm good, enthusiasm without caution bad. P.S. I certainly am a lawyer, a number of the posters here and one of the site founders know me personally. Why, don't I sound like a lawyer? Don't feel a need to answer that, I'm just kidding, I'm not sure I want to sound like most people's stereotype of a lawyer.

Chris6137, I just wanted to chime in and say I don't think there's anything wrong with your post; even though I don't personally endorse Ron Paul I don't think it was inappropriate for you to post it in response to this answer. The quesiton was, are you looking forward to the election year, and your answer was that you were looking forward to it because you are excited about a certain candidate. Seems appropriate to me, as long as you aren't being paid to promote him. Keep up the great answers and I'm glad to hear people being enthusiastic about politics even when it is for candidates who i don't support. We need more optimism and involvement in this country!

I HATE election years. I totally hate them. Thankfully, we don’t have TV, so I don’t have to sit through the horrifying commercials, but just hearing them on the radio makes me want to spork out my eardrums. I’ve usually decided who I’m voting for early on, so listening to the attacks, vitriol & flat-out lies makes me ill.