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First off thanks for the thoughtful response. One thing you said caught my attention:
I think preserving Social Security and having affordable health care that covers everyone is in the country's best interest. Luckily, in those instances my best interest and what I perceive to be best for the nation happen to coincide.
Those are important issues affecting the country, though it's open to debate wether these are the most important ones. Your daughter could say that stopping foreign wars, the invasion of privacy, and lawlessness of elected officials are in her best interest and also in the country's best interest as well.
For my part I think both candidates would be good administrators of the country. But young people want to be inspired. That is the payoff for their vote. Unlike older voters they do not depend on government services that much. Just to date myself the first person I ever voted for was Paul Tsongas in the '92 primaries. My sister (18 at the time) was at the Clinton rally in Little Rock when the national results came in. We were just so damn happy that someone who might possibly represent us was elected instead of someone from our grand parents generation.
For my 2 cents I'd say let this generation have their Bill Clinton (which is Obama). Since the policies of both are close to the same I give up little (if anything) to bring in many new people. Will Obama end up disappointing may of them later on, you bet he will, just as Bill did. But that one victory will keep them going for many years in politics.
That said, if Hillary is the nominee, I'll have strong reservations given her AIPAC connections but I'll do my duty as a citizen (not as a Democrat) and vote for her in November if any other vote would throw the Presidency to a war monger.
