I was listening to NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” one day just before Christmas. The episode was asking Iowa voters to call in and state who they are supporting and why. The first caller was an African-American woman who stated that she was (justly) offended at being typecast as an Obama supporter simply because of her race. I promptly thought “Good for her! She’s making her own decision and not taking the easy way out!”
But I spoke too soon. When asked who she was voting for, she said “Well I was supporting John Edwards…, but I don’t want to waste my vote, so I’m voting for Hillary Clinton.”
Excuse me? “Waste my vote?”
I immediately yelled at the radio “You idiot!” The whole purpose of an election is to express one’s own opinion of who they feel is the best candidate. One who shares the same views as the voter.
No matter who I vote for, even if I’m the only voter for that candidate, I’ll never consider my vote “wasted.”