These last several weeks have been very difficult for me.

I voted Libertarian in 2004, I consider myself to be a libertarian with a small “L”, and I generally support the positions of the Libertarian party. The World’s Smallest Political Quiz pegs me as a left-leaning libertarian. I met Michael Badnarik personally (the picture of me meeting him somehow found its way onto Wikipedia) and after talking with him I found him to be a genuine, principled person, albeit a bit old and clueless about free culture / technology policy and similar issues that are very important to me. While I did not consider his political acumen to be amazing, and I didn’t think he would have a chance to win even in a fair election (as opposed to one rigged against 3rd parties), I respected his principles and passion for the cause.

I generally disagree with the Democratic Party and its platform, I do not trust it to preserve my civil liberties or to do anything good with free culture issues and IP / tech policy, and I frequently find myself in conflict with the nanny state. Why the @#$% can’t I buy raw, unpasteurized almonds or raw cheese? As an amateur pyrotechnician I’ve seen my friends persecuted+prosecuted by the police despite strictly following safety procedures and doing their very best to follow the letter of the (unreasonable) law. The war on drugs, the war on filesharing, the war on moisture in our airports (and of course actual war) have all continued under a Democratically controlled Congress and I do not expect the Democrats to make any positive changes in any of these areas. I oppose big government and its intrusion into my private life, and I hold the Democrats responsible for a great deal of it.

This election, however, I had to make my decision based on the candidates, rather than the general philosophies of their parties. While I do not agree with many of Obama’s positions, and in fact disagree violently with some of them, I have come to believe that he is the candidate best prepared to lead our country for the next four years. This is sad, because I also do not trust him to keep his word or protect my civil liberties after his FISA vote. However, after researching this year’s Libertarian Party candidate, Bob Barr, I do not think he is good for the Libertarian Party, I do not trust him or believe him to be a sincere libertarian, and I do not think he would be a good president even if he had a chance of being elected. Despite my serious misgivings about Obama, there are many things I like about Obama as a person, Obama as a President, and Obama’s policy positions that allow me to cast a vote for him in good conscience, to vote FOR him rather than against the other guy (which is not something I would ever want to do).

I intend to follow up this post with details about my feelings on Obama and why I decided not to vote for Libertarian candidate Bob Barr.