My views on ... politics???

I feel like my life has changed a lot recently - the activities I spend time doing have rearranged themselves. There are a few things I have quit doing as much as I used to, some of which are productive (watching TV, wasting time on Facebook, etc) and some of which I wish I would once again spend more of my time doing (reading, sleeping, studying the Bible, etc). There has also been a plethora of things I have picked up recently that were never really part of my life before - which include cooking, running, planning a wedding, and ... staying up to date on news and politics.

I have talked before about planning a wedding (and will continue to until July 12), and about running (as a side note - I am setting a new record for myself every week now - yesterday I ran 3.5 miles for the first time ever), but I haven't really spent much time talking about politics or news. And that would be for several reasons.

First of all, I feel as if I am a "newbie" to this world. There was such a long period of time in my life that I did not keep up with what was going on in the world and in this country, and I have had such a short time to catch up on things. I don't like to talk about, debate, or share opinions for which I am not wholly confident in my ability to answer intelligently and thoroughly. And I'm not there yet.

Second of all, I am much more confident in other's ability to communicate similar views of mine. This is most evident in my relationship with Kyle. If anyone has views most aligned with mine, it would be him. And if anyone our age has the knowledge of politics, and keeps up constantly with what is going on in the world and in our country, it would be him.

It would also be Kyle that has the largest influence on my growing interest. He is an avid reader of all kinds of newspapers, blogs, etc, and is full of interesting conversational topics at any given time. I feel most successful in this new interest of mine when I can carry on a conversation with him about any topic, and not feel left behind or unknowledgeable. Because I can bet you he has an opinion, can fully explain and reason out his opinion, and can back his opinion. Maybe one day I will be there.

Regardless of that, I am here to say that I have become increasingly interested in being informed instead of ignorant. Talk and news radio have become the norm during my half hour commutes to and from work. I spend half an hour every morning checking the major news stories and reading respectable blogs. And tonight... I actually TiVo'ed the debate between Clinton and Obama.

Despite all of my hesitation on speaking my opinion, I will say that the first 30 minutes of the debate had me questioning my newfound interests. I have always disliked people that talk about things they don't know about, or vote for someone blindly and without considering all aspects of an election. I am a registered Republican, have always identified myself as a Conservative, but in order to avoid being one of the ignorant voters or blind followers I dislike, I decided that I should listen to what Clinton and Obama have to say.

I wasn't impressed.