Choosing the next leader of the country is a big deal, and I try not to take it lightly. There’s a lot of mud flinging that is inherent in big elections and I’ve tried my hardest to sift through to the facts before making a decision. I always leaned towards voting for Obama, mostly because he is already the president and he hasn’t done anything bad enough to warrant changes now. I have taken in the positives and the negatives of Romney and Obama and I can now back up my vote with legitimate reasons for voting for Obama. It seems to me that Romney and Obama are actually very similar. After seeing the debates the presidents have very different platforms when it comes to the economic plan and lowering the national debt, but Romney only plans on making very minor changes to policies that were already enacted by Obama. Not being an economist myself, I did not want to make my decision based on something few people can claim to really understand. Both candidates claim to be pro-small business but there might be some disagreement over what a small business is, and I just have to take their word that helping small businesses will help the economy. Obama wants to encourage companies to keep jobs in America by changing the tax code which sounds good to me, but I am unable to decipher the tax codes by myself so it seems unreasonable to base my vote on it. My decision ended up being based on my own value systems, but my major concern for the country is how it will be in the long term. Lowering gas prices is extremely low on my list of priorities. In fact, any act that would lower the gas prices would most likely have a negative effect on the environment which is also important to me. The Obama administration spent about 90 billion dollars researching and investing in alternative fuel sources. Some would call that extreme or a waste, but to me it sounds just about right. Not just the country, but the entire world needs to be free from using fossil fuels like gasoline and coal, that cause global warming and pollute the atmosphere. This is why it doesn’t upset me that the coal industry in America is down-sizing while natural gas, which is actually clean, becomes more and more prevalent. It’s just a matter of accepting change and being willing to sacrifice in the present for a better future. Gas prices are going to go up for now, but one day everyone could be using a fuel like hydrogen which is renewable so the prices will be low and stable. Obama’s policies on renewable resources alone are almost enough to vote for him, but it’s not the sole reason. I grew up in the lower class and I definitely would not be attending college right now if I didn’t get help from the government. I’m not the only one in this boat either. There are many college students all over the country that are in part dependent on the government. It’s not always as simple as borrowing money for school and Obama policies reflect that. The president has shown a clear interest in education and in people like me who need help in order to attend school. This comes back to my concern for the future and I think it’s a smart move to invest in the future by helping people go to school and get useful jobs. I’m not particularly into nationalism, but having a country full of scientists and engineers could make America into the strongest country. For the longest time it was really easy for me to just vote against Romney rather than for Obama, but now I’m self-assured in my reasons. My choice to vote for Obama isn’t based on personal dilemmas involving civil rights and it’s definitely not based on the illusion that Romney is an aristocrat that only cares about rich people. Both candidates have valid positions and I have reached a logical conclusion based on my own beliefs and the current state of the presidency.