This is the first time I will be voting in a presidential election and I am voting for Sen. Barack Obama. It’s not because he’s well spoken or charismatic, but because he stands for ideals that I can appreciate.’

There is one major reason why Sen. John McCain is no longer an option for me: I do not agree with his decision of Gov. Sarah Palin as the vice presidential candidate.’ Her views on many issues are the complete opposite of mine. She is more an extreme than a moderate, like McCain is, and I can’t bring myself to agree with her in any way. So in the end, that is one point for Obama.

A reason that I am voting for Obama is because he has many of the same ideals I do, especially in regards to gay marriage, abortion and teacher-led prayer in schools.

It is my belief that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion; they just shouldn’t be able to push that opinion onto anyone else. All three of those issues have to do with personal morals and beliefs and Obama doesn’t want to dictate those ideals for the American people. He is allowing them the opportunity to decide for themselves, by either being for gay marriage, being pro-choice and being against teacher-led prayer in school.

It isn’t that he wants to do these things himself, but he is allowing others the chance to make the decisions for themselves and not dictating his morals on everyone. As a voter, I appreciate this trait in a national leader.

‘ Pushing morals is what the Republican Party has been doing while in the White House. An example would be when President George Bush tried to include in the constitution that gay marriage should be illegal. For the record, I’m not voting for Obama just because he’s a democrat. I’m a moderate, which means I could go either way.

But after watching Palin on television and learning everything that she stands for, there is no way I could support the Republican nominations and feel secure that my beliefs will be well represented.

Aside from letting the American people decide for themselves how to construct their morals, I agree with Obama’s plan for the withdrawal of our troops in Iraq. Not in an irresponsible, ‘lets take all these guys out at once’ way, but a gradual effort to remove them safely. I can appreciate having our military personnel home and having our country not spending millions of dollars a month on an uphill war.’ We’ve done all we can in Iraq and it’s time for us now to admit there is nothing left to do and not occupy the area.

Now I know that Obama does not have the political experience that McCain may have. He’s only been senator of Illinois for about three years. He doesn’t have the full experience of having been in the political arena for over 20 years like McCain.

But maybe that’s what we need in office, someone who hasn’t yet been tainted by the cold, harsh reality that is our political system and can come into the job with a fresh face and new ideals. True it may be hard at first for him to get the hang of things, but there is a reason he made it this far in the election. Obama is a perfectly capable democrat who will succeed if voted into office.

Now, I could not vote. I could very well abstain and not voice my opinion. However, especially in today’s world, it is important to get your opinion out there. Not voting is not using your voice. Whichever candidate you vote for, at least you put your voice out there. That is the only way to take worries and complaints and turn them into change. In my case, my voice and my vote are going to Obama.